Case Study Outline

Final Case Study Outline: Merck Pharmaceuticals (Keytruda®, Pembrolizumab)

· Title Page

· Title of the Paper- Focused on Merck Pharmaceuticals, particularly their blockbuster drug Keytruda® (Pembrolizumab)

· Name

· Correspondence

· Abstract

· Brief summary of key sections of the paper

· Keywords

· Introduction

· General overview of Merck Pharmaceuticals, their spectrum of pharmaceutical development

· Define what makes Merck newsworthy and their Research and Development Pipeline

· Focus on Merck’s strategies, overall vision, goals, business objectives

· Overview of Blockbuster drug- Keytruda® (Pembrolizumab); PD-1 inhibitor immunotherapy for treatment of various oncology indications (melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, urothelial carcinoma, metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, advanced gastric carcinoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, solid tumors)

· Focus on Merck’s Competitors with similar products:

· Roche (comparator product Tecentriq® or Atezolizumab)

· Bristol Meyers Squibb (comparator product Opdivo® or Nivolumab)

· Oligopoly vs. Pure Competition: what makes Merck maintain its competitive streak and what is the market structure

· Regulatory authorities: focus on Merck’s compliance programs:

· Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

· U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

· Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals created by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

· Section 1: Demand Analysis Concepts:

· Apply the Law of Demand and Purchasing Power Effect:

· Evaluate the real value and demand for Ketruda® and similar new immunotherapy drugs with indications in multiple tumors to increase overall survival, improve morbidity and mortality, progression of disease, and quality of life

· Target Marketing (Oncology drugs and demand), Positioning, Subsitution

· Strategic Advertising

· Apply concepts of price elasticity of demand

· Section 2: Production and Cost Analysis Concepts:

· Assess the blend of labor vs. capital intensity in Merck Pharmaceuticals

· Assess fixed and variable costs

· Apply concepts of Returns to Scale, Diminishing Marginal Returns (if applicable)

· Section 3: Strategy Analysis Concepts:

· Value-based pricing

· Life Cycle Pricing: from clinical research with Keytruda® where it is provided free of cost to research patients to the FDA approval post-marketing and group pricing to hospitals (340-B pricing, patient assistance programs)

· Niche pricing

· “What they got right” Analysis:

· CEO’s vision and overall contribution to success: “The mission of Merck and other pharmaceutical companies at the time (1950s) was to take care of patients and profits would follow” to new mission statements

· Quality and consistency in delivery of products and services

· Conclusion:

· Summary of the most important concepts as applicable throughout the course/class and their applicability to Merck, with blockbuster product like- Keytruda®

· References:

· All references cited throughout the paper and a complete listing with full citations at the end