Principal Investigator Andrew Lo
Co-investigators Deborah Lucas , Robert Merton
The process of developing safe and effective drugs has become riskier, lengthier, more expensive, and more difficult to finance with traditional sources such as private and public equity. In some cases, government is the only institution capable of addressing these challenges (e.g., public health), but in other cases, the private sector can take the lead. This project aims to explore the factors that determine which of these two outcomes will occur, whether there are market failures specific to the biopharma industry that can explain their current difficulties, and how new financing vehicles and public policy can improve the efficiency of this important industry.