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Bracco is a good example because the change it had to face was drastic and because its volume and overall focus in R&D make a detailed analysis feasible with reasonable effort. |
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Up to the late eighties, Bracco was an Italian-based research and manufacturing company, whose wealth came mainly from one blockbuster product, Iopamidol, created and manufactured by Bracco and sold worldwide through licensees (the compound still holds a leading position in the world market for nonionic X-ray contrast media). |
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Based on the success of Iopamidol and its accumulated excellence in R&D, manufacturing, and management, Bracco was ready for more; its aim is to become the world leader in contrast media for in vivo diagnosis by the year 2000 despite fierce competition and market turbulence. |
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To achieve such an ambitious target required that Bracco meet a number of challenges: |
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extending R&D into all areas of in vivo diagnostics (X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound) |
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passing from sequential development to parallel development of several projects |
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starting portfolio management systems to select and prioritize the different projects |
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qualifying the Milan site as a true corporate head office of a global corporation |
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gaining direct marketing presence in all major markets |
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creating an international marketing organization to guide subsidiaries and distributors world-wide. |
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These challenges were met by |
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acquiring know-how and capacity in discovery, development, and manufacturing by purchasing and building sites in the U.S., Germany, and Switzerland |
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purchasing sales organizations and creating joint ventures in Europe (Bracco-Byk Gulden) and in Japan (Bracco-Eisai). |
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changing the management structure. |
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By the early nineties, Bracco had entered a true transitional period, changing from a national to an international, from a monoproduct to a product portfolio and from a single site to a globally present corporation. |
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