Building the Supply Chain for COVID-19 Vaccines
2021
This case traces the complex set of activities involved in the development, regulatory approval, production, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It describes the resources, information, cooperation, and decision-making that went into an unprecedented effort to develop and distribute a new vaccine urgently. It poses some of the difficult strategic and operational decision dilemmas faced by country governments, purchasers, vaccine developers, and manufacturers in designing the overall supply chain for COVID-19 vaccines.
Learning Objectives A productive class discussion will allow students to appreciate (1) the development, regulatory approval, production, and distribution processes for a pandemic vaccine; (2) the complexity and inter-relationships between different activities and actors in the vaccine supply chain; (3) the role of manufacturing flexibility in managing uncertain demand and supply; and (4) the importance of a portfolio approach in sourcing/purchasing technology which is under development.
The Global Health Delivery (GHD) Project, an interdisciplinary collaboration between Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, investigates the management decisions behind disease treatment and prevention globally. The Global Health Delivery (GHD) Case Collection is a set of teaching case studies that are available for all at no cost online through Harvard Business Publishing, GHDonline, and The Case Centre.
Building the Supply Chain for COVID-19 Vaccines
Source:
Fisher M, Kharenko K, Ucel C, Yadav P. Building the Supply Chain for COVID-19 Vaccines. Global Health Delivery Project, Harvard Business Publishing 2021. https://www.globalhealthdelivery.org/publications/building-supply-chain-covid-19-vaccines.