COURSES

GSBGEN 351 - Innovation and Management in Health Care
Biomedical innovations are rapidly redefining health care, transforming terminal diseases such as cancer and AIDS into chronic conditions. But progress comes at a huge cost: health care expenses now account for almost 14% of the GDP in the US, and they are expected to grow rapidly in the future. Further, the vast array of treatments and diagnostics spurred by innovation redefine the challenges faced by managers in this space. Management must coordinate different health care functions and firms into the pursuit of a common goal of "healthcare value maximization". This course will provide a unified view of the health care system, focusing on the effect of innovation on value generation and patient care integration. Guest speakers will include some of the most respected executives, clinical key opinion leaders, and venture capitalists in life sciences/health care.
The following topics will be explored through a combination of lectures, case discussions and guest speakers: - The multiple dimensions of value in health care - The health care value system - Integrated care delivery systems and managed care - Principles of managed care - Health care reimbursement systems and their effect on biomedical innovation - The innovators and their business strategies: medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health care information systems - Financing innovation. This course provides a top-down view of the health care system and its effect on innovation, and it can be bundled with the Biodesign Innovation courses (OIT 384/385) for a bottom-up experience in health care innovation. While students taking this course will be able to appreciate the strategic challenges facing the different firms in the health care value system, students taking OIT 384/385 will gain hands-on experience on the early-stages towards the commercialization of biomedical discoveries. The Innovators part of the course will be co-taught with Rob Chess, chairman and ex-CEO of Nektar therapeutics.

OIT 384 - Biodesign Innovation
Two quarter sequence. Needs finding and concept creation. Strategies for understanding and interpreting clinical needs, researching literature, and searching patents. Clinical and scientific literature review, techniques of intellectual property analysis and feasibility, basic prototyping, and market assessment. Students working in small entrepreneurial teams to create, analyze, and screen medical technology ideas, and select projects for development.

OIT 385 - Biodesign Innovation
Concept Development & Implementation.
This is the second quarter in a two-quarter course series (OIT384/385). The course series provides students with skills essential for the development of new biomedical technologies and enables them to take the critical first steps in invention, patenting, early prototyping and development of new concepts. Continuing in small groups, students learn to identify important early factors for success, prototype their inventions and refine intellectual property. Lectures by a series of experienced medical pioneers and entrepreneurs cover strategic planning, ethical considerations, new venture management, and fundamental financing and licensing strategies. Students analyze cash requirements, create regulatory (FDA), reimbursement, clinical and legal strategies, and develop business or research plans. By the end of the quarter, each team will have prepared a business plan which will include: - A detailed description of the clinical problem you are trying to solve - A review of the broader market space and competition - A complete description and rendering (on paper or via prototypes/models) of your product concept - An explanation of the market, IP, reimbursement, regulatory and development considerations for the concept. - And financial projections with key milestones and assumptions clearly highlighted The teams will present their business plan to a panel of experts consisting of some of the most successful venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the medical device field and they will receive real-time feedback. Course grade will depend on - The quality of the independent and team written assignments - Individual participation in class and attendance - A separate evaluation by the teaching faculty, assigned team mentors, and the Innovation Fellow assigned to each team - A final review by the other members of each team - The final team presentation and deliverable.