Complete an outline for the final case study paper by 11:59 pm ET Sunday week 8. This assignment is not the full paper but your way of selecting your final three sections for approval. Submission Deta

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