Research by Hanu Tyagi, assistant professor of business administration at Gies College of Business, has been recognized for its insights into the intricate dynamics of the pharmaceutical industry.

Tyagi’s dissertation, “Balancing Novelty, Safety, and Availability: The Trifecta of Outcomes in Pharmaceutical Supply Chains” received the prestigious Best Dissertation Award at the Industrial Studies Association (ISA) Conference. This comprehensive work comprises three essays that explore the unintended consequences arising from efforts to address stagnating innovation, increasing drug shortages, and the compromised quality of medications reaching patients.

“They make an amendment to improve one outcome, but it often unintendedly impacts other outcomes,” said Tyagi.

The first essay, which also won the Babbage Best Paper in Industrial Innovation Policy at the ISA conference, reveals that increased clinical trial transparency, intended to improve patient safety, might actually discourage the development of truly novel drugs.

“Pharma firms tend to prioritize ‘me-too’ drugs that tweak existing formulations in response to the increased transparency,” said Tyagi. This paper was co-authored with Manuel Hermosilla (University of Illinois, Chicago) and Rachna Shah (University of Minnesota).

A second essay, co-authored with Shah, investigates how initiatives that aim to improve the availability of breakthrough drugs through an expedited approval process may impact their drug safety.

The third essay, “When Life Gives You Lemons: Spillovers Between Pharmaceutical Recalls & Shortages” was recognized in May with the Junior Scholar Best Paper Award at the 35th Annual Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) Conference. It was co-authored with Shah and Junghee Lee (University of Notre Dame).

Tyagi, who joined Gies Business last year from the University of Minnesota, was drawn to the College because of its reputation for strong support of research and the opportunity to contribute to its existing research on pharmaceutical operations. He is now looking forward to getting his dissertation papers published in the most suitable journals.

As Tyagi turns to new research endeavors, he has been grateful for the financial support Gies Business has provided through the Junior Faculty Council and Gies College of Business Grant Committees . He has begun to explore how the lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in clinical trials impacts drug innovation. Tyagi aims to understand the dichotomy of why pharmaceutical firms may not prioritize diverse participants even though there’s a societal preference for it.

“I’ve been able to acquire unique proprietary data that will not only advance my own work, but also benefit other researchers at Gies, including many PhD students,” said Tyagi. “I appreciate that the College is investing in a long-term vision that will be beneficial for our community for many years to come.”