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  • September 2017
  • Case
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Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:13
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Abstract

Dr. William Carson, an African-American alum of Harvard University became the President and CEO of a multi billion dollar division of Otsuka, a Japan based pharmaceutical company. His ascension to this leadership position followed a thriving career in academic medicine as a professor. After a decade in the academy he began a career in the pharmaceutical industry where he ran drug trials. As the Group Director of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Carson worked on the drug Aripiprazole, an antipsychotic drug that is more famously known as Abilify, which had been developed by Otsuka. Abilify was being co-marketed in the United States by Otsuka and Bristol Myers-Squibb. After a series of meetings with a colleague from Otsuka Carson was offered the job of introducing Abilify to Japanese consumers. This new responsibility included the task of running clinical trials for Abilify in Japan. The project would require a deft cultural touch as well as a plan for how to run the trials. Should the trials be run in-house or outsourced? Should Carson hire employees who might eventually be laid off—an unpopular option in Japan—or could he find a company with enough cultural sensitivity to run the trials in Asia? Carson would have to rely on his intrapreneurial skills to find the answers.

Keywords

Dr. Williams Carson; Otsuka America Pharmaceutical; Harvard; Abilify; Aripiprazole; Health Testing and Trials; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Japan

Citation

Rogers, Steven, and Alyssa Haywoode. "Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry." Harvard Business School Case 318-005, September 2017.
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Related Work

    • September 2017
    • Faculty Research

    Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

    By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode
Related Work
  • Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode
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