Patricia M. Danzon

Patricia M. Danzon
  • Celia Moh Professor
  • Professor of Health Care Management

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    204 Colonial Penn Center
    3641 Locust Walk
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: biopharmaceuticals, health care, industrial organization, insurance, liability, medical malpractice

Links: CV

Overview

Patricia Danzon is the Celia Moh Professor at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Professor Danzon received a B.A. from Oxford University, England, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. She has held faculty positions at Duke University and the University of Chicago.

Professor Danzon is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of economics of health care, the biopharmaceutical industry, and insurance.  She is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Social Insurance, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She has served as a consultant to many governmental agencies, NGOs and private corporations in the US and internationally. Professor Danzon has served on the Board of Directors of Medarex, Inc., the Policy and Global Affairs Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Policy Board of the Office of Health Economics in London.

Professor Danzon has been an Associate Editor of the American Economic Review, the Journal of Health Economics and the International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics. She has published widely in scholarly journals on a broad range of subjects related to health care, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, insurance, and the economics of law.  She co-edited the Handbook on the Economics of the Biopharmaceutical Industry (2012), for Oxford University Press. Selected publications include: “Exits from Vaccine Markets in the US: The Role of Competition vs. Regulation” (with N. Pereira), International J. of the Economics of Business 2011; “Setting Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds As A Means To Achieve Appropriate Drug Prices In Rich And Poor Countries” (with A. Towse and A. Mulcahy)  Health Affairs 2011; “Drug Pricing and Value in Oncology” (with E. Taylor) The Oncologist 2010; “Productivity in Pharmaceutical-Biotechnology R&D: The Role of Experience and Alliances” (with S.Nicholson and N.Pereira) J. of Health Economics 2005; “Biotech-Pharma Alliances as a Signal of Asset and Firm Quality” (with S. Nicholson and J. McCulloch, J. of Business 2005.

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Research

Teaching

All Courses

  • HCMG2040 - Comparative Hc Systems

    This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our main focus is on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries--Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom--and then look at other countries with interesting systems- including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

  • HCMG8590 - Comparative HC Systems

    This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with the tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our focus first on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries- Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom -and then look at other developed and emerging countries with interesting systems - including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We will draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

  • HCMG8630 - Mgmt&Econofpharm&Biotech

    This course explores the key phases of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology product lifecycle. The product journey begins in the lab where scientists explore a vast array of compounds against diseases (therapeutic targets). Compounds that perform best enter the capital-intensive clinical trial phase aimed at assessing the product’s safety and efficacy. In parallel, regulatory agencies guide and govern these trials and ultimately decide which products are approved for use in patients. Once approved, launched, and priced, products face many dynamic market forces including competitors trying to steal share, government and private payers placing downward pressure on price, regulatory agencies controlling what manufacturers can and cannot say about their products, generic manufacturers challenging existing patents, and finally patients and physicians who behave both rationally and irrationally when deciding which product to use. While the course perspective is global in nature, the emphasis is on the U.S., the largest and most profitable market. In addition, we will delve into the world of biotech start-ups from company creation and financing, to how they make decisions which compounds to advance. We will also explore how large pharma views the biotech industry to bolster their existing pipelines and drive shareholder value. Through case studies, readings, guest speakers, and in-class exercises, students will learn concepts and analytical frameworks and acquire the tools and skills necessary to become the future leaders of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

  • HCMG8990 - Independent Study

    Arranged with members of the Faculty of the Health Care Systems Department. For further information contact the Department office, Room 204, Colonial Penn Center, 3641 Locust Walk, 898-6861.

Awards and Honors

  • Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award, 2012
  • American Risk and Insurance Association, Award for Outstanding Article, for “Alternative Liability Regimes for Medical Injuries: Evidence from Simulation Analysis,” August, 1995
  • American Association of Risk and Insurance, Award for Outstanding Article, for “Compensation for Occupational Disease: Evaluating the Options,” Journal of Risk and Insurance, June, 1987
  • American Risk and Insurance Association, Elizur Wright Award, for Medical Malpractice: Theory, Evidence and Public Policy, June, 1987

In the News

Knowledge at Wharton

Activity

Latest Research

Patricia M. Danzon and Michael A. Carrier (2022), The Neglected Concern of Firm Size in Pharmaceutical Mergers, Antitrust Law Journal, 84 (2), pp. 487-520.
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In the News

Is the U.S. Ready for Value-based Pricing of Drugs?

The federal government’s move to switch to value-based pricing of drugs for one category of public health plans could potentially have far-reaching effects, say experts.…Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 5/18/2016
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