Social Entrepreneurs in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Catalyst That Finally Drives Down Price?

Abstract

The cost of healthcare in the United States is notoriously expensive. In recent years, social enterprises and nonprofit organisations have begun flooding into the market to try and stem the rising costs. I perform a case study on two prominent social enterprises and analyse the challenges they’re facing and the implications of their work. I requested an interview from a key figure within each respective organisation to gain a better understanding of their perspective. The companies are at polar ends when it comes to company growth, with one being a startup company that is just beginning to grow into its name and the other an already well-established firm. I provide overviews on each respective firm and compare their challenges and company goals. A better understanding of the pharmaceutical market led to suggestions of potential solutions to the problem of high healthcare prices in the form of patent reform and negotiation committees.