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“Study Go,” Organizer & Consultant Urges Big Pharma

Mind Go Club organizer Shavit Fragman recommends that Big Pharma executives study go in his recently published article Pharma 
Business avalanche, Modeling Through the strategy game of Go. Shavit is President and CEO of MindPharma, a healthcare consulting firm. With $100 billion in Big Pharma revenues set to evaporate in the coming years due to patent expirations and generic substitutes, Fragman uses the Avalanche joseki (or nadare) as a metaphor for the potential impact of patent expiration on big pharma revenues and profits. Noting that an avalanche is a risk when climbing Everest, Fragman says that “Experienced climbers know how critical every step” is and how “One small mistake may lead to" disaster. "High skill is a must for high mountain climbers,” he notes, “Similarly in the game of go.” Fragman’s paper develops his thesis by demonstrating and discussing near future trends in the pharmaceuticals market and analyzes several other pharmaceutical companies strategy using the avalanche joseki, leading to his recommendation that pharma executives “study the game of go, its finesse and benefit from the strategic tools and whole board (universal/cosmic) view and thinking.”