This course discusses the challenges to finance progress in healthcare in the 21st century, and the possible solutions, with a specific focus on drug discovery. The course reviews the current framework for drug approval, including the economics of clinical trials, and introduces the tools used for investment valuation, such as decision trees, financial and real options, Monte Carlo simulations, and portfolio theory applied to drug discovery and development. We review the venture capital and private debt markets as source of funding. We finally discussthe recent area of personalized medicine and targeted therapies, its current challenges, and the promises offered by new technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, and their impact on healthcare finance. Case studies are used to cement the concepts discussed in class.
