Taking a Lifelong ‘What if?’ and Making it a Reality

May 8, 2018, 10:38 am EST

By: Scott Boyer

I am a veteran of Big Pharma. I spent 11 years at Abbott Labs ABT, -0.40% and 16 years at Bristol-Myers BMY, +1.13%  I also spent two years as a pharmaceutical consultant.

For almost three decades, I saw annual sales charts that showed the hot spots for pharmaceutical sales. Currently more than 90% of drugs are sold in developed countries and less than 5% in underdeveloped countries. The sales charts called those underdeveloped countries “ROW”, or Rest Of World, and they, for the most part do not matter enough for big pharmaceutical companies to spend any time or resources on.

Year after year I wondered if something could be done to help those who desperately need it but might not have the resources to pay. It was a weekly walk through the “what ifs?” that sort of haunted me: What if something could be done? And most important, What if I’m the one to do it?…READ MORE