California Management Review
California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley
by Homa Bahrami
This case study is about a California-based biotechnology company that has experienced many ups and downs throughout its 17-year history. Despite many setbacks, it ultimately succeeded in developing and getting approval for an orphan drug used to treat IPF, a deadly lung disease. InterMune was acquired by Roche/Genentech for $8.3 billion in September 2014; the price represented a significant premium over InterMune's trading price at the time. The protagonist, InterMune's CEO, Dan Welch, joined the company in 2003 and has led InterMune through numerous strategic pivots, leadership changes, clinical trial disappointments, multiple divestitures, and ultimately the sale of the company. Resilience and the capacity to bounce back are at the core of this case study. The narrative focuses on strategic, cultural, and leadership changes and decisions made by Welch, the Board and the leadership team throughout Welch's tenure. Specifically, Welch sharpened InterMune's strategic focus on a few indications, evolved the Board and the leadership team, and orchestrated a grassroots initiative to re-invent InterMune's core values and cultural pillars.
Pub Date: Jun 9, 2015
Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Subjects: Global corporate cultures, Entrepreneurship, Hiring & employment, Corporate strategy, Value creation, Growth strategy
Product #: B5838-PDF-ENG
Industry: Biotechnology
Geography: United States, California
Length: 29 page(s)
