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  • January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
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ZappRx

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:22
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Abstract

In October 2015, ZappRx founder Zoe Barry is deciding between two business models for her health technology start-up. Her product, a software application that aims to expedite the prescription fulfillment process for patients with rare diseases, has attracted interest from specialty drug manufacturers who wish to build an exclusive platform for patients taking their medications. But Barry, against the advice of her management team, is considering an alternative business model, which would open the platform up to all manufacturers in a given disease area. Instead of financing product development through individual contracts, the comprehensive platform would be free to doctors and pharma alike and financed via an aggressive fundraising strategy and through the sale of the prescription data collected on the app. Barry is willing to take the risk, but her management team is staunchly opposed. Which path should ZappRx take? The case is a window into the early go-to-market and business model decisions that an entrepreneur must make, in this case in the face of pushback from her own management team. The case also provides a detailed picture of the specialty pharmaceutical industry and challenges students to think about target customer identification and talent management in a start-up environment.

Keywords

Speciality Drugs; Hub Services; Pivot; Speciality Prescriptions; Health Care and Treatment; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Massachusetts

Citation

Bussgang, Jeffrey J., and Olivia Hull. "ZappRx." Harvard Business School Case 818-001, January 2018. (Revised January 2019.)
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About The Author

Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Entrepreneurial Management
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Related Work

    • July 2018
    • Faculty Research

    ZappRx

    By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull
    • January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    ZappRx

    By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull
Related Work
  • ZappRx By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull
  • ZappRx By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull
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