Instructor Spotlight: Aria Chawla and Arman Tendulkar
What inspired you to teach this course?
Aria: I was inspired by seeing how often the science and the business sides of biotech operate in silos. Through my experiences working in life sciences strategy and clinical operations, I realized that many students interested in biology or medicine rarely get exposure to the strategic and regulatory decisions that ultimately determine whether a drug reaches patients. At the same time, students interested in business often lack visibility into the scientific uncertainty that shapes those decisions. I wanted to create a course that bridged that gap.
Arman: I was interested in the complex decisions that sit at the intersection of business strategy, government policy, and ethics in the pharmaceutical industry. Drug development isn’t only a scientific process; public policy also plays a major role in shaping regulatory pathways and incentives designed to encourage innovation. I wanted to teach a course that helps students understand how business strategy and public policy interact to guide these choices, and how those interactions affect both the speed of innovation and broader public health outcomes.
Why is it important to know about the business side of drug development?
Aria: Scientific discovery alone isn’t enough to bring a therapy to patients. Moving a drug from the lab to the clinic requires upwards of a billion dollars in investment, careful portfolio management, and strategic decision-making at every stage of development. Scientists and business leaders have to constantly weigh their promise to patients against financial risk and resource constraints. Without understanding these dynamics, it’s really hard to see why some promising therapies advance while others are discontinued.
Arman: It’s important because policy and market incentives play a huge role in shaping what gets developed. Government regulation, approval pathways, reimbursement systems, and public policy decisions all influence how companies prioritize research and invest their capital. By understanding the business context, students can better see how policy and corporate decision-making interact. It also helps frame larger ethical questions about how we balance innovation, profit, and equitable access to medicines.
What are some ways in which emerging technologies have impacted drug development?
Aria: Emerging technologies have changed drug development by making it faster and more data-driven. High-throughput screening, for example, lets scientists test millions of compounds against a target in just a short amount of time. These technologies also influence how companies allocate resources and manage their development pipelines. They can reduce costs, shorten timelines, and improve the odds that a drug succeeds in clinical trials.
Arman: Advances like AI-driven research, genomic medicine, and digital clinical trials can accelerate development and enable more personalized treatments. At the same time, though, they raise important questions for regulators and policymakers about data privacy, safety standards, and how new technologies should be evaluated.
What are some preconceived notions about drug development that you would like to dispel?
Aria: Because of how fast the COVID-19 vaccines reached patients, many people now assume that new medicines can be created and approved in just a couple of years. In reality, drug development typically takes 10–15 years and involves many stages of testing, regulatory review, and investment before a therapy ever reaches patients. Most drug candidates also fail somewhere along the way! Understanding how long the process actually takes helps students appreciate the scientific challenges and strategic decisions companies have to face.
Arman: Another misconception is that drug pricing and access decisions are driven by a single actor, usually pharmaceutical companies. In reality, the system is much more complicated and involves governments, regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers, all of whom influence how drugs are priced and who can access them.
Aria Chawla is a senior majoring in Cognitive Science and Economics.
Arman Tendulkar is a senior majoring in Political Science and Economics.