2019 Case Competition Prompt
Your client is the CEO of TNT Biotech, a public, US-based small- to mid-size biopharmaceutical company aiming to develop curative therapies for indications with high unmet need. Recently, TNT Biotech successfully launched a gene therapy product with orphan drug status for an autoimmune disease. Following this success, the CEO is now focused on exploring the potential of TNT Biotech’s other key asset – a pre-clinical, dual-targeting CD19 + CD22 CAR-T asset being developed for oncology indications in the US. Initial results from pre-clinical testing of the asset show promising efficacy in acute lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma, diffuse large b-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma.
The CEO has tasked you with evaluating the opportunity associated with the CAR-T asset in each of these oncology indications. Given the costs associated with clinical development, funding must be prioritized and only one of the indications can be pursued in the near-term (<5 years).
Before providing a final recommendation on which indication TNT Biotech should pursue for their CAR-T asset, a few initial questions may need to be considered:
- What is the current standard of care for the treatment of each of the indications of interest, and what are the associated unmet needs given the current treatment options?
- Are there any trends (e.g. regulatory rulings, evolving payor environment) or paradigm-shifting product launches that may affect the opportunity for the asset?
- How might the product’s first indication approval affect the opportunity associated with potential follow-on indications in the long-term?
- What risks are involved with the selection of each indication and how could those risks affect the outcome of the opportunity?
- What is the expected commercial opportunity for each indication in the United States?
Ultimately, you will need to provide the CEO with a recommendation for which indication to pursue, and a rationale that supports this decision.
Winning Slide Deck:
2019 Duke UNC Case Comp Winning Slide Deck
Congrats to the winning teams of the 2019 annual UNC/Duke Case Competition!
1st place: Jackie Tang (Duke) and Bei Liu (Duke)
2nd place: Christopher Krapu (Duke) and Varun Mallampalli (Dartmouth)
3rd place: Suman Rao (Harvard), Tang Nan (Columbia), Clarice Shen (Columbia), and Bruce Gao (Harvard)
Important Dates
- March 5, 2019, at midnight – Early bird application deadline ($20 app fee)
- March 25, 2019, at midnight – Final application deadline ($25 app fee)
- April 1, 2019 – Teams notified of selection
- April 10, 2019 – Case emailed to teams
- April 17, 2019, at 12pm EST – Final slide decks due
- April 18, 2019 – Case competition
Schedule
- 8:30 – 9:30 – Registration, Coffee/Pastries, Networking
- 9:30 – 12:00 – Round 1 – Preliminary Round
- 12:00 – 1:30 – Lunch, Judges’ Panel (current consultants)
- 1:45 – 3:30 – Round 2 – Final Round
- 3:45 – 4:00 – Awards Ceremony
- 4:00 – 5:30 – Networking with consulting firms
- 5:30 – Informal networking event in Durham, NC
Rules and Guidelines
- Teams must consist of 2-4 members.
- Each member must submit a one-page resume.
- Each team must submit a one-page cover letter.
- Students that are pursuing advanced professional degrees, including PhD, MD, JD, and PharmD, are eligible to apply. Postdoctoral fellows and Masters students are also eligible.
- Undergraduate and MBA students are not eligible for this competition.