Gervais-Danone/Dr Oetker (B)

The French subsidiary of the German publishing company Gruner & Jahr, itself a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann Group, is considering the launch of a new business magazine called CAPITAL. The market looks unattractive, is new to the company, and the financial risk is high. The case describes the various steps in product development.

Amgen Europe has launched Aranesp, a second-generation EPO product in a market dominated by Johnson & Johnson's pioneering Eprex (US name Procrit), followed by NeoRecormon from Roche. One year after the launch, the sales and market share of Aranesp are below target.

NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) reviews the cost effectiveness of medicines for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (annual cost per patient €10,000-18,000) and does not authorize their use within the UK National Health Service. However, an agreement between the manufacturers and the Department of Health is reached on an innovative risk sharing scheme.