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A Top Global Case Competition

“When you have this many really talented, gifted and experienced individuals working on healthcare problems you realize that over time, they can have an impact and make the world a better place.” Hear from Professor Tim Calkins, Academic Director of the competition, about what makes this event so special.


Kellogg Biotech + Healthcare Case Competition

Every year, student teams from around the world gather in Evanston to compete in the Kellogg Biotech + Healthcare Case Competition

The Kellogg Biotech + Healthcare Case Competition is one of the oldest and most prestigious case competitions in the world. The 2025 competition will be the 24th annual event.

The format of the competition has remained generally consistent over the years: teams of students from top universities work on a complex healthcare problem and present their analysis and recommendations. Judges from top healthcare firms evaluate the presentations and select the winners. The top three teams receive prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $1,000.

The 2025 competition will feature two rounds. From all the teams that apply, about 20 teams will progress to round 1. In this round, teams will work on a healthcare question and submit their analysis. About 11 teams will then advance to round 2, which will be held in January in Evanston.

The 2025 event is sponsored by Medtronic and Moderna.

The topic is new each year. The one constant is that it is a complex question. One year, teams had to consider how to build acceptance for the COVID vaccine, another year the topic was increasing chlorhexidine use in Nigeria, and still another year teams had to forecast revenues for Palforzia, a treatment for peanut allergies.

The competition brings together some of the most talented and enthusiastic emerging healthcare leaders. The goals of the event are to build connections, enhance skills and hopefully have a impact on improving health outcomes.

 

 

Previous Case Competitions

Kellogg Team Wins 2024 Biotech and Healthcare Case Competition

On January 27, twelve teams from eleven top business schools competed in the 2024 Kellogg Biotech + Healthcare Case Competition in Evanston, Illinois. This was the 24th year of the event, and once again competition was fierce. Moderna sponsored the weekend.

A team from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management won the competition, with a team from Chicago Booth finishing second.

The topic this year: how can Novo Nordisk ensure that under-served communities in the United States benefit from the weight-loss drug, Wegovy? The case was complex, forcing teams to consider a range of dynamics from market access to physician education to patient acceptance. Given the enormous potential population for weight-loss drugs as well as capacity constraints, how should Novo approach the opportunity? Obesity is linked to a range of health-issue, but the cost and patient hesitancy are major barriers.

The winning teams developed thoughtful plans that addressed multiple stakeholders in a creative, strategic way. The teams then presented their recommendations with confidence and conviction.

The final round teams came from a remarkable collection of schools: SDA Bocconi School of Management, Johnson School of Business at Cornell, Chicago Booth, Duke Fuqua, Northwestern Kellogg, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, Jones School of Business at Rice University, Michigan Ross School of Business, and Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

A total of 64 teams from 25 schools in 7 countries applied to the event. Judges were healthcare executives from companies including AbbVie, Astellas and Lundbeck.

The winning team from Kellogg: Allie Myers, Kyle Reed, Olivia Bounadere, Jon Chuko and Mahbod Pourriahi.

The second place team from Chicago Booth: Hayden Koerwer, Liisa Parts, Amrish Soundararajan, Pengyu Yi.

First place team from Kellogg

Contact us about Healthcare at Kellogg

GET IN TOUCH
Craig Garthwaite
Faculty Director, Healthcare at Kellogg
c-garthwaite@kellogg.northwestern.edu
847.491.2509
Paul Campbell
Executive Director, Healthcare at Kellogg
paul.campbell@kellogg.northwestern.edu
847.308.4586
Pete McNerney
Director, Healthcare Entrepreneurship Initiative, Healthcare at Kellogg
peter.mcnerney@kellogg.northwestern.edu
847.491.3838
Karen Larkin Young
Senior Program Development Manager, Administrative Director
karen.larkin@kellogg.northwestern.edu
Mary Novak
Program Assistant
mary.novak@kellogg.northwestern.edu