Courses

Courses

Healthcare electives complement Columbia Business School’s world-class MBA curriculum. The Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program offers five electives (six electives beginning in the Fall of 2010), which comprise an integrated nexus of functional disciplines within multiple healthcare sectors, studied from the perspective of industry executives and investors. Each course uses an average of four to five seasoned industry practitioners as guest speakers and infuses topics of international significance into the classroom.

The Healthcare Industry in the 21st Century

This course provides an overview of the U.S. healthcare industry and the emerging developments that are transforming methods of payment, production and delivery of health goods and services. Topics include strategies for addressing problems of cost, quality and access, and the perspectives of consumers, payers, providers and producers/suppliers. Emphasis is placed on challenges and opportunities afforded healthcare executives, employers, policymakers and investors by new legislation, information technology and new methods of healthcare delivery and payment.

Strategy and Competition in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

This course examines the strategic, technological, competitive, organizational and political challenges impacting the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Critical issues examined include the strategies and process of discovering, developing and getting new drugs approved; R&D/product portfolio strategies; patent strategies and challenges; the pharmaceutical supply chain; design of prescription drug plans and the role of PBMs; competition between branded, generic and OTC products; industry profitability and growth prospects; and external/business-development strategies.

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

This course provides a framework for understanding the economic factors underlying the healthcare system and the intersection of its agents (consumers, payers, providers, suppliers). The course focuses primarily on the structure and economics of health insurance and the demand for healthcare; pricing and reimbursement of drugs, vaccines, medical devices and hospital services; economics of biomedical research; disease-management programs; and cost-benefit analyses employed by payers and consumers of healthcare products and services.

Healthcare Investment and Dealmaking

This course analyzes the unique characteristics and strategies of investing in the healthcare sector from the perspective of venture capital firms investing in early-stage life science/healthcare enterprises, private equity firms seeking to build value-creating healthcare platforms and entrepreneurs seeking capital from these and other sources. The course also covers in-depth business development and dealmaking strategies (partnering, licensing and M&A) pursued by healthcare companies to enhance competitive position.

Marketing of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

This course covers marketing strategies for healthcare players, with an emphasis on pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical-device companies. Among the issues it addresses are new product introduction and adoption; challenges and opportunities of value pricing; how marketing fits in early product development; how regulation and market structure affect availability of physician and consumer data; information management and market research; and sales-force design and management.

Healthcare Business and Investment in Emerging Markets (Fall 2010)

This course provides a practical understanding of the business strategies and investment opportunities for global healthcare companies and investors in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, with a special emphasis on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).  The course offers an analysis of these regions from the perspectives of global pharmaceutical, medical products, and consumer healthcare companies tapping into emerging markets to enhance growth prospects, and venture capitalists and private equity firms seeking to profit from attractive healthcare/life science investment opportunities in these regions.  It also addresses the record of success of public-private partnerships in addressing global health issues in developing countries.