Sarah Ramirez, a Stanford-educated PhD, left her job as an epidemiologist to return to her farming roots so she could help reverse the growing diabetes and obesity crisis she observed in Tulare County. Tulare, profiled in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, remains largely populated by farm-workers, many still trapped in poverty She wanted to help combat food insecurity, experienced by over 40% of this California county’s residents, which she observed as contributing to these health problems. In essence, Ramirez and her partners are turning food waste into health improvement gold. With her husband, she started a grass roots organization Be Healthy Tulare in her Pixley, California hometown. Be Healthy Tulare harvests food that would otherwise go to waste in commercial fields because of less-than-perfect appearance or in residential backyards because of too-busy homeowners. In this country, food pantries do a great job of…
Big pharma faces big business model questions
To pick the best vacation spot for hiking in February, I look at climate patterns. In the world of business, external trends help suggest the most attractive market spaces. Arrive before the crowds, and you’ll have the best experience, a principle as true for industry convergence as it is for hiking. Nevertheless, leaders too often stay stuck in current market spaces by failing to challenge historic answers to the vital business model strategy question, “What business are we in?” They get left behind as their industry converges with others, with pharmaceutical companies the latest example. As scientists’ understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms deepened, pharmaceutical manufacturers added biologics to their offerings by evolving their internal R&D approaches and acquiring or partnering with biotech drug discovery start-ups. But with a few exceptions, drug companies’ core business remains developing and selling drugs that treat specific…