One of the scientists working in the R & D laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company discovers that one of the company’s best selling veterinary drugs, B has the potential to cure a currently incurable liver disease that is prevalent in tribal areas. However, developing a variant of the drug suitable for human beings entailed a lot of research and development having a huge expenditure to the extent of 50 crores rupees. It was unlikely that the company would recover the costs as the disease was rampant only in poverty-stricken area having very little market otherwise. If you were the CEO, then—(a) Identify the various actions that you could take;(b) Evaluate the pros and cons of each of your actions.
What the examiner wants
As CEO, set out and evaluate options for developing a human drug for a poor tribal population when costs may not be recovered.
Demand-wise check
- 1Stakeholders: tribal patients, shareholders, scientist, employees, government, regulators, society≈50 words
- 2Ethical issues: profit vs right to health, corporate social responsibility, justice to the poor, duty to shareholders≈50 words
- 3Options: (i) ignore - legal but unethical; (ii) develop alone at loss - ethical but hurts shareholders; (iii) partner with government/ICMR, WHO or NGOs and use CSR funds - shares costs; (iv) license technology to a public institution - wider access≈50 words
- 4Chosen: PPP with CSR funding plus orphan-drug incentives; reputation and long-term value≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Where marks usually go
- Choosing only 'develop at any cost' without addressing shareholders
- Not listing pros and cons per option, as the question asks
Draw this
- Options matrix: cost, access, shareholder impact, ethics
Value addition
- ExampleMerck's Mectizan Donation Program (1987) donated ivermectin, first a veterinary drug, to fight river blindness - a direct parallel.Merck, 1987
- LawCSR under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 allows spending on preventive health care (Schedule VII).Companies Act 2013
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 37 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 33 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 29 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 33 ↗Same syllabus reference
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