Alira Health Competition: the winner is... MIHMEP 23

A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM SDA BOCCONI'S MASTER OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT, ECONOMICS AND POLICY WON THE FOURTH EDITION OF THE COMPETITION. THIS YEAR'S THEME: IN LICENSING STRATEGIES FOR BIOSIMILARS BY A US PRIVATE EQUITY FUND

SDA Bocconi hosted the fourth edition of the Alira Health Competition (March 30 – April 1), organized by Alira Health and the Health Care Club, an SDA Bocconi initiative which is managed by students from Full-time MBA and MIHMEP - Master of International Health Care Management, Economics and Policy. The winner was the group coming from the current (23rd) edition of MIHMEP at SDA Bocconi. The winning group included Filippo Bonomo, Eleni Konas, Beatrice Lama, Davide Maini and Chiara Valz Gris. INSEAD and Saïd Business School came second and third respectively. ESADE received a mention for the financial model.

This year the competition focused on in-licensing strategies for biosimilars by a US-based private equity fund (biosimilars are biologic medicines launched into the market after patent expiration of the originator). This fund acquired a majority share of a company which owns a biologics manufacturing site in the US, with the long-term intention of using the company as a platform for future biosimilar investments.

Presentation, logical flow, financial modelling, creativity and strength of recommendation were the awarding criteria. A huge number of international business schools participated: twenty-six groups answered the competition call and sent their in-licensing strategies. Ten groups were selected for final presentations – CEIBS, Emlyon Business School, ESADE, IESE, INSEAD, DeGroote School of Business (McMaster University), MIHMEP (SDA Bocconi), National University of Singapore, Saïd Business School (University of Oxford), University of St. Gallen.

This is the first time that an SDA Bocconi team has won the Alira Health Competition. “It was a unique opportunity that allowed us to leverage and combine different skills and educational backgrounds” the winners said. “This enabled us to make a difference as a team and work towards a common goal while sharing the same passion for healthcare. MIHMEP equipped us with the skills and an indispensable toolkit that helped us succeed in the competition, preparing us to thrive in tomorrow’s health care challenges.” “All teams demonstrated great understanding of potential client needs and problem-solving skills,” said Matteo Beretta from Alira Health, member of the competition jury, “but the winning team prepared a very strong business case, supported by a presentation with a clear logical flow and solid recommendations and showcased the ability to handle client remarks.”

Alira Health is one of the largest worldwide consulting companies in the health care sector and decided to launch the Alira Health Competition five years ago, in collaboration with the SDA Bocconi Health Care Club. “In 2017, Alira Health partnered with Bocconi University to launch the biggest European Healthcare Consulting Case competition with more than 500 students participating from the top universities globally,” said Gabriele Brambilla, CEO and Founder of Alira Health. “Five years later, this case study competition continues to be a fantastic opportunity to build bridges between exceptional students and key health care players globally. Every year our team at Alira Health looks forward to building challenging case studies and then working with student teams to identify the finalists, and ultimately, the winner. I want to warmly congratulate this year’s winner, MIHMEP, the first winner from SDA Bocconi,” Brambilla added.

Giacomo Maimeri, MBA candidate and President of the Health Care Club, praised the participants and the competition itself: “As someone who is passionate about healthcare, I’m proud that so many participants have been actively involved in this online event, showing interest for this sector which is positively impacting our lives. The passion of Alira Health, Chiesi Group, SDA Bocconi, and all the people involved as organizers and participants has been the magic ingredient helping us to work so closely, even if we are based in different countries.”

“I am so proud of the results of the MIHMEP group,” Claudio Jommi, Director of MIHMEP and Professor of Practice of Health Policy at SDA Bocconi, concluded. “They had the right balance between hard and soft skills and a profound knowledge of the health care sector, together with the commitment, motivation and passion that all the groups demonstrated. I am also very grateful to all the organizers for their great work. Besides the Alira Team, special thanks go to Giacomo Maimieri, Francesco Bellieni, Davide Gennaro and Sindhuja Nanduri from the Health Care Club, Alfredo Llovet from the Career Development Center and Giacomo Chiesi for his inspiring speech and the contribution he gave to this initiative. I am sure that many other editions will follow”.

by Ezio Renda