Is there opportunity during adversity? It is a key strategic question facing biopharma as health systems struggle with the massive destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on everything from R&D priorities to the safety of a globalized – and often untraceable – drug supply chain. With health care now positioned as a strategically vital sector, one where medicines are prioritized as a public good, some entrepreneurs see an opening for new business models that address longstanding structural and market failures exposed by the crisis. They see a first-mover advantage in betting on a future where the measure of business performance may be starkly different than it is today.
A prominent example of health care markets’ misalignment between supply and demand is the generic drugs business. In fact, the...