Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

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.