Better. Cheaper. Faster. How Value-Based Management Delivers Vastly Improved Portfolio Results

When Inspire Pharmaceuticals, a North Carolina-based biotech company, first started managing its pipeline of products for diseases of the eyes and lungs, it used an approach familiary to many: the Balanced Scorecard. Key criteria were identified and ranks, and each product in the pipeline was ranked by how well it met each of the criteria.

With a potential range from 0 to 100, this approach was expected to provide guidance as to which projects to fund and which to drop.

In reality, though, the top-ranking project differed from the bottom-ranking project by just nine points on the 100-point scale. Not only that, but the projects at the top of the list were in late-stage development - on the threshhold of major commercialization expenditures. Projects at the bottom of the list were those in early research; a small incremental investment was required. Did it make sense to kill those low-scoring projects when the investment at this stage was so minimal? Hardly the clear insight management was seeking.

That's when Inspire turned to value-based portfolio management, an approach favored not only by pharmaceutical companies but also used regularly by oil & gas, aerospace, consumer products, high tech, and telecom. Value-based management teased apart the commercial value of a project from its development hurdles, allowing a better "apples-to-apple" comparison and generating valuable insights. The resulting portfolio roadmap allows the organization to make decisions on individual projects in the context of the entire portfolio rather than on an ad-hoc basis in a state of urgency.

In this free, one-hour webinar, hear about Inpire and other examples of portfolio management as our speakers address the key elements of successful portfolio management. This webinar is hosted by the Stanford Center for Professional Development.