Burroughs Wellcome Case Analysis
Clarissa Kowalczyk
April 3 2012
MAR 499
Case Analysis
Burroughs Wellcome Company: Retrovir
Summary and Recommendation:
As I have read the case it was presented that in January of 1990, Burroughs Wellcome executives were under continued pressure to reduce the price of Retrovir, a drug which had been found to be effective in the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrom (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After careful review of the data and the case I have come up with the recommendation for the company to maintain the current price of Retrovir.
Background:
Burroughs Wellcome Company produced a drug that proved to be the number one treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1987. The company has been pressured to reduce the price of Retrovir when it had been reduced twice since 1987. The high price was set because the virus was still relatively new and the company was unsure of the market they needed to target, the possible advent of new therapies, or profit margins customarily generated by new medicines. After reducing the prices twice and providing a reasonable explanation for the high prices, the pressure to reduce the pricing still continued. The problem in this case is should Burroughs Wellcome reduce the price of Retrovir?
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) can be traced through bodily fluids such as blood and semen which is caused by a virus named human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the efforts to track and forecast the incidence and cost of HIV and AIDS began in 1986 where researchers focused on identifying the people that are at high risk, finding out the geographical concentration of the diseases and coming up with an approximate number of people who are connected with HIV and AIDS.
The research done concluded that a majority (about 90%) of AIDS victims were homosexual males or drug users (typically with the use of needles). Cases were reported in metropolitan areas like, San Francisco,
April 3 2012
MAR 499
Case Analysis
Burroughs Wellcome Company: Retrovir
Summary and Recommendation:
As I have read the case it was presented that in January of 1990, Burroughs Wellcome executives were under continued pressure to reduce the price of Retrovir, a drug which had been found to be effective in the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrom (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After careful review of the data and the case I have come up with the recommendation for the company to maintain the current price of Retrovir.
Background:
Burroughs Wellcome Company produced a drug that proved to be the number one treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1987. The company has been pressured to reduce the price of Retrovir when it had been reduced twice since 1987. The high price was set because the virus was still relatively new and the company was unsure of the market they needed to target, the possible advent of new therapies, or profit margins customarily generated by new medicines. After reducing the prices twice and providing a reasonable explanation for the high prices, the pressure to reduce the pricing still continued. The problem in this case is should Burroughs Wellcome reduce the price of Retrovir?
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) can be traced through bodily fluids such as blood and semen which is caused by a virus named human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the efforts to track and forecast the incidence and cost of HIV and AIDS began in 1986 where researchers focused on identifying the people that are at high risk, finding out the geographical concentration of the diseases and coming up with an approximate number of people who are connected with HIV and AIDS.
The research done concluded that a majority (about 90%) of AIDS victims were homosexual males or drug users (typically with the use of needles). Cases were reported in metropolitan areas like, San Francisco,