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NIH funding for vaccine readiness before the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFRapid development of vaccines for COVID-19 has relied on the application of existing vaccine technologies. This work examines the maturity of ten technologies employed in candidate vaccines (as of July 2020) and NIH funding for published research on these technologies from 2000–2019. These technologies vary from established platforms, which have been used successfully in approved products, to emerging technologies with no prior clinical validation. A robust body of published research on vaccine technologies was supported by 16,358 fiscal years of NIH funding totaling $17.2 billion from 2000–2019. During this period, NIH funding for published vaccine research against specific pandemic threats such as coronavirus, Zika, Ebola, and dengue was not sustained. NIH funding contributed substantially to the advance of technologies available for rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting the importance of sustained public sector funding for foundational technologies in the rapid response to emerging public health threats
Locations for advice-giving and the production of neutrality in divorce mediation sessions
No full textIn this paper I use a conversation analytic approach to investigate the relationship between the location of advice within a mediation session and the mediator\u27s construction of a neutral stance. I find that while mediator advice is often placed after disputant disagreements, problem statements, or position statements, these locations may present challenges for mediator neutrality. On the other hand, the placement of advice within a mediator\u27s extended turn or monologue may insulate it from disputants\u27 prior utterances so that the advice can be given without challenging the mediator\u27s neutral stance
Developing Institutional Skills for Addressing Big Data: Experiences in Implementation of AACSB Standard 5
Get PDFThe explosion of data coupled with firms’ desire to utilize it is driving rapid changes in the desired skillset for accounting and assurance professionals. Educational institutions are considering how to catch up to these requirements, while accreditors are also modifying standards to reflect changes in desired skillsets. We present evidence from two institutions’ efforts to update their courses to address contemporary skill requirements, accompanied by discussion from a Big 4 professional. We find that despite significant differences between the two institutions and their approaches, similar challenges were encountered, and similar feedback was obtained from students. We conclude with a proposal for four basic tenets that we believe should be considered by any institution updating curriculum in response to Big Data and related analytics skills
Late-stage Product Development and Approvals by Biotechnology Companies After Initial Public Offering, 1997-2016
Get PDFPurpose: This work describes the late-stage product portfolios of the biotechnology companies that completed initial public offerings (IPOs) from 1997 to 2016. We asked whether these emerging companies continue to develop innovative, biologic products and produce the innovation promised by the early biotechnology industry.
Methods: We identified therapeutic products that reached Phase III development from 1997 to 2016, the characteristics of the products, the dates of the initiation of Phase III and product approval, proxy indicators of the innovativeness of each product, and the contribution of each biotechnology company. Companies were characterized by IPO window and clinical status of the most advanced product at IPO. Time from IPO to Phase III or approval, and the estimated probability of a company having a product advance to these milestones, were examined using KaplaneMeier analysis.
Findings: A total of 319 biotechnology companies completed IPOs from 1997 to 2016. These companies contributed to the development of 367 products that progressed to Phase III, and of 144 new drug approvals, through 2016. The estimated probability of a company having a product reach Phase III was 78%, and the estimated probability of a company receiving at least 1 product approval was 52%, with most approvals occurring \u3e5 years after IPO. Small-molecule drugs represented 74% of products reaching Phase III and 78% of approvals. Reformulations represented 36% of Phase III products and 46% of approvals. The estimated probability of product approval was significantly higher for reformulations than new molecular entities (NMEs) and slightly higher for small molecules than biologics. The estimated probability of a company receiving product approval varied significantly by IPO window and was greater for companies with Phase III products at IPO (74%). These companies contributed to the development of 78 NMEs, 44% of which were classified as first in class, initiating development of 69% and contributing to the clinical development of 96%. These products represented 16% of all NMEs and 28% of biologics approved between 1997 and 2016. Seven products achieved per-annum sales of \u3e$1 billion during the study period.
Implications: The majority of emerging publicly owned biotechnology companies contribute to products that advance to Phase III development and approval, although these companies are no longer distinctively focused on biologic products
Comparing long-term value creation after biotech and non-biotech IPOs, 1997–2016
Get PDFWe compared the financial performance of 319 BIOTECH companies focused on developing therapeutics with IPOs from 1997–2016, to that of paired, non-biotech CONTROL companies with concurrent IPO dates. BIOTECH companies had a distinctly different financial structure with high R&D expense, little revenue, and negative profits (losses), but a similar duration of listing on public markets and frequency of acquisitions. Through 2016, BIOTECH and CONTROL companies had equivalent growth in market cap and shareholder value (\u3e 93 billion vs $411 billion). Both cohorts exhibited a high-risk/high reward pattern of return, with the majority losing value, but many achieving growth multiples. While investments in biotechnology are often considered to be distinctively risky, we conclude that value creation by biotech companies after IPO resembles that of non-biotech companies at a similar stage and does not present a disproportionate investment risk
Why Online Personalized Pricing is Unfair
Get PDFOnline retailers are using advances in data collection and computing technologies to “personalize” prices, i.e., offer goods for sale to shoppers at their reservation prices, or the highest price they are willing to pay. In this paper, I offer a criticism of this practice. I begin by putting online personalized pricing in context. It is not something entirely new, but rather a kind of price discrimination, a familiar pricing practice. I then offer a fairness-based argument against it. When an online retailer personalizes prices, it competes unfairly for the social surplus created by a transaction. I defend this argument against objections, and offer a simple remedy: online retailers should either disclose that they are personalizing prices, or stop doing so
Characterizing the public sector contribution to drug discovery and development: the role of government as a first investor
Get PDFThis research is focused on examining the role of the public sector as an early investor in biopharmaceutical discovery and development. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary source of funding for basic biomedical research designed to elucidate fundamental mechanisms of biology, health, and disease. This research is expected to establish the scientific foundation for the discovery and development of new biopharmaceutical products. This interim report reviews the linear model of innovation underlying these expectations, and evidence for the effectiveness of this pathway. We also describe new data demonstrating that every new drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the decade from 2010-2019 was associated with basic science funded by the NIH
Technology Based Audit Tools: Implications for Audit Quality
Get PDFTechnology as an exogenous shock has proven to have pervasive effects on auditing firms, practitioners, regulators, and global markets. However, the dynamic nature of technology makes it uniquely challenging to articulate technology’s largescale implications on the auditing profession in recent times. Understanding how current technology has helped shape the contemporary auditing profession is vital to identify points of inflection within the industry (i.e., areas of risk and change), and key to elucidating the future of where the field is going.
The first paper (sole-authored) is a literature review that synthesizes auditing studies across methodologies, including archival, experimental, and qualitative methods. Such studies discretely consider technological circumstances unique to the auditing profession; however, to date, no comprehensive review exists that synthesizes what these technological changes mean for audit quality. I map prior literature to the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) recommended Audit Quality Indicators.
In the second paper (sole-authored) I investigate how in-charge auditors in NGNFs engage in institutional work using technology-based audit tools (TBATs) to impact audit quality. Using semi-structured interviews in tandem with institutional theory, I identify factors that are associated with in-charge auditors’ propensity to engage in institutional work, being actions that contribute to the development, continuance, and/or breach of established practices. My results reveal patterns of common motivators, resources, and outcomes of in-charges’ institutional work to impact audit quality at a process level. Findings have important implications for theory, as I find evidence that institutional work can arise from nontraditional sources of less powerful and individual actors.
The third paper (co-authored) investigates the roles that audit partners of NGNFs play in shaping the technological future of auditing through the lens of institutional theory. Using an experiential survey, we explore the nature of these institutional isomorphic pressures as they occur in unison with the theory of institutional work. We uncover a surprisingly synergistic, as opposed to paradoxical, relationship between how isomorphic pressures foster conformity amidst innovation stemming from within these firms. Data suggest partners engage in creating and maintaining acts of institutional work that are motivated by professional marketplace expectations and ambiguity stemming from technology within the field
Portfolio Insurance Strategies. Parameter Optimization and Comparison Study
Get PDFPortfolio insurance strategies are very popular investment solutions that provide an investor with capital protection as well as allow for an equity market participation.
This dissertation focuses on two portfolio insurance strategies: Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance (CPPI), one of the most popular strategies, and Volatility Target Portfolio Insurance (VTPI), a modified version of an Option Based Portfolio Insurance (OBPI). This dissertation follows a three-paper model.
In paper one, we propose a two-step approach to the numerical optimization of the CPPI main parameter, multiplier. First, we identify an admissible range of the multiplier values by controlling the shortfall probability (chosen as a measure of the gap risk). Second, within the admissible range, we choose the optimal multiplier value with respect to the omega ratio (chosen as a performance measure). We illustrate the performance of our optimization algorithm on simulated CPPI paths in the Black-Scholes environment with discrete trading as well as on the historical S\&P 500 data using the block-bootstrap simulations.
In paper two, we introduce and implement the VTPI strategy, a modified version of the OBPI strategy in which an embedded option is linked to a Volatility Target (VolTarget) portfolio instead of a pure risky asset.
A VolTarget portfolio is constructed in such a way that the overall portfolio volatility is maintained very close to the prespecified value, the volatility target. The VTPI strategy leads to higher participation in the market compared to the standard OBPI strategy. We illustrate how the VTPI strategy works in different market scenarios as well as in the real financial market.
In paper three, we use stochastic dominance rules to compare two portfolio insurance strategies: CPPI and VTPI. The performance of the CPPI strategy is often compared to that of the OBPI. The OBPI strategy often fails to outperform the CPPI strategy due to high option prices, particularly because of high volatility levels of the underlying asset and the volatility spread associated with it. The VTPI strategy can potentially overcome this problem because the volatility of the underlying asset is held under control. This leads to lower option prices and higher participation rates