Biopure Solution
BIOPURE CASE SUMMARY
Course:
Strategic Marketing Management
Name:
Firat Sekerli
The Problem:
Biopure Corporation has two new products that are Oxyglobin and Hemopure. Oxyglobin is the first new blood substitute for the veterinary market and is ready for consumer use. Hemopure is another new blood substitute for the human market and it will take two years to launch the product from now on. Ted Jacobs, vice president for Human Clinical Trials, is concerned about creating an unrealistic price expectation for Hemopure by marketing Oxyglobin before Hemopure. On the other hand, Andy Wright, vice president for Veterinary Products, believes that selling Oxyglobin has benefits for the company in terms of generating revenues for the use of launching Hemopure and learning how to market and make mistakes prior to the launch of Hemopure. Carl Rausch, the president and CEO of Biopure Corporation, has to decide if the release of Oxyglobin would be beneficial for the company without jeopardizing the potential of Hemopure.
The Solution:
I think that launching Oxyglobin has many benefits for the company. For this reason, I agree with Andy Wright’s decision to begin by selling Oxyglobin. Ted Jacobs indicates that the veterinary market is small and price sensitive. He also believes that if the company prices Oxyglobin around $150, it will be very difficult to price Hemopure at $800 because of the huge difference in price for the same product. I disagree with Ted Jacobs because although the production processes and physical characteristics of these two products are identical, Oxyglobin is targeted for the animal market whereas the target customer for Hemopure is the human market. Just because products are identical does not mean that the company prices separately; it is all about the supply and demand. The determining factor of price is the market itself, so Ted Jacobs thinks that Biopure can achieve the
Course:
Strategic Marketing Management
Name:
Firat Sekerli
The Problem:
Biopure Corporation has two new products that are Oxyglobin and Hemopure. Oxyglobin is the first new blood substitute for the veterinary market and is ready for consumer use. Hemopure is another new blood substitute for the human market and it will take two years to launch the product from now on. Ted Jacobs, vice president for Human Clinical Trials, is concerned about creating an unrealistic price expectation for Hemopure by marketing Oxyglobin before Hemopure. On the other hand, Andy Wright, vice president for Veterinary Products, believes that selling Oxyglobin has benefits for the company in terms of generating revenues for the use of launching Hemopure and learning how to market and make mistakes prior to the launch of Hemopure. Carl Rausch, the president and CEO of Biopure Corporation, has to decide if the release of Oxyglobin would be beneficial for the company without jeopardizing the potential of Hemopure.
The Solution:
I think that launching Oxyglobin has many benefits for the company. For this reason, I agree with Andy Wright’s decision to begin by selling Oxyglobin. Ted Jacobs indicates that the veterinary market is small and price sensitive. He also believes that if the company prices Oxyglobin around $150, it will be very difficult to price Hemopure at $800 because of the huge difference in price for the same product. I disagree with Ted Jacobs because although the production processes and physical characteristics of these two products are identical, Oxyglobin is targeted for the animal market whereas the target customer for Hemopure is the human market. Just because products are identical does not mean that the company prices separately; it is all about the supply and demand. The determining factor of price is the market itself, so Ted Jacobs thinks that Biopure can achieve the