Module 3: Value creation in Pharma and Biotechnology

• analyze the competitive landscape of a pharma, biotech, or bioinformatics market using established strategic frameworks.
• assess whether a new discovery meets the criteria for patent protection and identify an appropriate IP strategy.
• analyze strategic interactions in pharma, biotech, and bioinformatics markets using strategic game theory, including patent races, licensing negotiations, and market entry decisions.
• estimate the commercial potential of a new discovery using market-sizing and revenue-forecasting methods.
• evaluate the financial value of a drug asset or innovation project using discounted cash flow analysis.
• compare and justify a commercialization pathway for a pharma, biotech, or bioinformatics innovation, considering, for example, licensing and spin-out as alternative routes.
• develop a structured implementation plan that integrates scientific, strategic, and financial contributions into a coherent written deliverable.
• present and defend the implementation plan to a relevant audience.
• collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary group throughout the project development process.

Competitive strategy: industry structure analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, the technology S-curve, and first-mover versus late-mover advantages in pharma and biotech markets.

Intellectual property rights: types of IP protection, patentability requirements in pharma and biotech, patent lifecycle, freedom to operate, and strategic choices between patenting and trade secrecy.

Game theory: strategic interaction, Nash equilibrium, sequential games, patent races, pay-for-delay agreements, and coordination in IP-intensive industries.

Pricing strategy: value-based pricing, willingness to pay, market segmentation, and pharma-specific pricing approaches, including sequential skimming and access pricing.

Market sizing: TAM/SAM/SOM framework, epidemiology-based sizing, and revenue forecasting for pharmaceutical products.

Financial valuation: net present value, discounted cash flow analysis, drug asset valuation, and an introduction to deal structures for commercialization, including licensing and spin-out.

Group project: students work in groups of 4-5 to develop an implementation plan for a selected pharma or biotechnology innovation or discovery, culminating in an oral presentation and examination.

• 24 – 26

22231/22238/22239, 22231 (Module 1) and 22238/22239 (Module 2) are recommended as relevant preparation, but the course is designed to be accessible to any MSc student with an interest in the business side of science and technology. Other innovation courses taken at DTU may also be beneficial and do not overlap with this course.

Lectures, exercises, group work, and oral project presentation. Teaching is concentrated in the first half of the course; the second half is dedicated to supervised group work on the implementation plan.

Students are encouraged to bring a case with commercial potential to use as the basis for the group project.
This can be a master thesis project, a new invention, a start-up idea, or any project with commercial potential from any field of engineering or natural science.
Students without a case will be assigned to an existing group project or will use a real-life case study as a starting point. If you are uncertain whether your case or background is suitable, please contact the course coordinator before registration.