BUSI 365 Week 7 Group Discussion Board Forum 7 Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 365 Week 7 sample is a group's profile of the pharmaceutical industry for the second industry profile forum. The group explains the economics that shape the whole industry: new medicines are enormously expensive to discover and test but cheap to copy once patents expire, which is why the industry divides into research-based firms, generic manufacturers and contract producers. A study estimating the cost of bringing a new drug to approval anchors the analysis, and the group identifies three current issues: concentrated supply of active ingredients, government price negotiation and the patent cliff. A reply to another group's profile of the medical device industry adds a point about supply chain risk. Liberty University BUSI 365 gives this group forum 100 points; BS in Business Administration students can use it to practice for the Global Industry Project due next week.

CourseBUSI 365 Global Industries and Operations (BUSI365)
Module/Week7
AssignmentGroup Discussion Board Forum 7
Paper typeGroup discussion thread with one reply
Lengthabout 377 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a group thread of at least 150 words answering the assigned questions, posted by Friday, and replies of at least 100 words posted by Monday
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points100
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 7 in Liberty's published BUSI 365 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 365 Week 7

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Group Discussion Board Forum 7: Industry Profile

BUSI 365 Global Industries and Operations, Group Discussion Board Forum 7 Thread and Reply

Thread by [Student Name]

The discussion questions and the other group's post are composites; the research cited is real.

Why this part earns its pointsThe group starts from the industry's cost structure, which explains the rest of the profile.
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Our group profiled the pharmaceutical industry, and the key to understanding it is its cost structure. Discovering and testing a new medicine is extraordinarily expensive; copying one after its patent expires is not. DiMasi et al. (2016) put the average cost of carrying a new drug through to approval near $2.6 billion, measured in 2013 dollars, once the costs of failed candidates and the time value of money were included. Most of what a new drug costs is the price of all the drugs that failed on the way.

That cost structure produces three kinds of firms. Research-based companies, headquartered mostly in the United States, Europe and Japan, invest in discovery and clinical trials and depend on patents to recover the investment. Generic manufacturers, many based in India and elsewhere, compete on low-cost production once patents expire. Contract research and manufacturing organizations serve both, running trials and producing drugs for others, which lets even small biotechnology firms reach global markets without building factories.

Three issues stand out. First, the active ingredients for many generic drugs are produced in a small number of countries, which creates shortage risk. Second, governments are pressing on prices, including Medicare's recently granted power to negotiate what it pays for certain costly drugs. Third, several major brand-name drugs are approaching patent expiration, which will shift revenue from research-based firms to generic makers and push brand companies to replace those products through new research or acquisitions of smaller biotechnology firms.

Reply to Group 3

Why this part earns its pointsThe reply links the two industries through a shared supply chain issue.
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Group 3, your profile of the medical device industry described how firms rely on specialized suppliers for components such as sensors and sterile packaging. The pharmaceutical industry shares that dependence, especially for active ingredients made by a handful of producers. When one plant halts production for a quality problem, shortages can follow across a whole category of medicines, because generic margins are too thin to support backup suppliers. A federal task force reached a similar conclusion, finding that the market does not reward manufacturers for reliable, high-quality production of low-priced generic drugs (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2019). DiMasi et al. (2016) show how costly innovation is, but the bigger risk for patients may now be fragile supply of old, cheap drugs. Did your group find device makers adding second sources since the pandemic?

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References

DiMasi, J. A., Grabowski, H. G., & Hansen, R. W. (2016). Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: New estimates of R&D costs. Journal of Health Economics, 47, 20-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.01.012

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2019). Drug shortages: Root causes and potential solutions. https://www.fda.gov/media/131130/download

What the BUSI 365 Week 7 instructions ask

The second of three industry profile forums falls in Module/Week 7, when groups study their assigned globalEDGE industry profiles and answer questions about how the industry is structured and what issues it faces. Groups again post one answer by Friday night and reply to others by Monday night, for 100 points. With the Global Industry Project due the following module/week, these profiles are also practice for the paper's analysis of an industry's structure, characteristics and issues, so groups that connect economics to organization are preparing well for the project. Groups that keep notes on the profile now will save time on the project next module/week.

How this BUSI 365 Week 7 example is built

Economics comes first in the thread, because the cost of creating a drug explains how the industry is organized. A study of research and development costs gives a sense of scale. The group then shows how that cost structure produces three kinds of firms, research-based companies, generic makers and contract manufacturers, and explains where each operates globally. Three current issues follow, each tied to that structure. The reply connects the pharmaceutical profile to another group's medical device profile through a shared concern, dependence on concentrated suppliers, and asks a question. Each part meets the forum's length minimum and cites its source in APA format. Facts about drug costs are attributed to their source in the text.

BUSI 365 Week 7 grading rubric: where the points go

The group's thread is scored on how well it answers the assigned questions about its industry using the globalEDGE profile and research, whether it is complete and on time, and whether replies make a real contribution. Profiles earn more when they explain the economic forces that shape an industry's structure rather than listing companies and revenues. Accurate, sourced facts about costs and current issues show careful research. A reply that links two industries through a shared issue demonstrates the comparative thinking the course develops. APA citations are expected for the profile and any studies. Clear writing counts too.

BUSI 365 Week 7 help: mistakes that cost points

Start with the economic feature that defines your industry, such as high research costs, heavy assets or low margins, and trace how it shapes the industry's structure. Use the globalEDGE profile for facts and a peer-reviewed study for the key figure. Identify the different types of firms and where each tends to locate. Pick two or three current issues and connect each to the structure you described. Assign one editor to fold every member's research into the group's post by Thursday. In the reply, find an issue your industry shares with the other group's and ask how they see it. Keep the reply above 100 words. Industry profiles are a chance to rehearse the analysis your Global Industry Project will need, so choose sources you can reuse. Note the date of any figure you cite.

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BUSI 365 Week 7 questions, answered

What is BUSI 365 Group Discussion Board Forum 7?

A 100-point Module/Week 7 forum in which each group examines an assigned industry's structure and issues from the globalEDGE profiles, with replies due the following Monday.

Where can I find a free BUSI 365 Week 7 sample paper?

This page shows a full BUSI 365 Week 7 group thread profiling the global drug industry, followed by a reply about how medical device supply chains differ.

How much does it cost to develop a new drug?

One widely cited study estimated the average pre-approval cost of a new compound at about $2.6 billion in 2013 dollars, including failures and the cost of capital.

Why is the pharmaceutical industry split between brand and generic firms?

Because discovery and testing are costly but copying an approved drug is cheap, research-based firms rely on patents while generic makers compete on low-cost production after patents expire.

What else is due in BUSI 365 Module/Week 7?

The group forum is the week's only grade, while students read the assigned globalEDGE industry profiles and draft the Global Industry Project due next week. The project is due the following module/week.

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