Appendix C: Roles for “Traditional Board”
Chairman of the Board As Chairman of the Board, it is your job to have the Board reach a decision
on the two issues within the time allowed. Unfortunately, you have only 45 minutes to reach a decision
since some of the Board members can stay no longer than that.
Your general philosophy about meetings is to try to allow for various sides of the issue to be
discussed before a decision is reached.
Legally speaking, a majority vote is required in order to reach a decision. You prefer that a
consensus be reached, but a formal ballot may be used at the end of the meeting if necessary. (Please
record the group decision on the form which has been given to you and give it to the administrator of
this case.)
Vice Chairman of the Board You were the President of Upjohn when Panalba was introduced into
the market. Naturally, you feel that Panalba was, and still is, a good product both for Upjohn and for
the people who have used it. If you didn’t feel this way, you would have never put Panalba on the
market in the first place.
President You’ve been President for about two years. Since you have taken over, the economy has
been slacking off and, as a result, company profits have been off somewhat. The Panalba problem
seems to have come at an especially bad time, then.
You have been checking out various ways of handling the Panalba problem. One suggestion has
been sent to you by an Upjohn lawyer. He had seen the Panalba issue develop over the past few years.
He thinks that it would be possible to delay any action by the FDA. He suggests that Judge Kent of
Kalamazoo (a man whom you know personally) would be willing to serve an injunction on the FDA.
The injunction would prohibit the FDA from banning Panalba until such time as a formal hearing can be
held. The results of the hearing, if unfavorable, could then be appealed. In effect, the case could be tied
up in the courts for years. And, if the court action was successful, it would help to prevent the FDA
from moving against other drug products in the future.
Another suggestion was sent to you by the Upjohn lobbyist in Washington. He suggests that it might
be possible to bring political pressure to bear and to attempt to have Robert Finch, head of HEW (and
therefore having jurisdiction over the FDA), overrule the proposed action by the FDA.
Vice President and Director You have, of course, been aware of the bad publicity on Panalba. One
idea has been suggested to you, however. This is that an appeal should be sent to all doctors to protest
to the FDA on the grounds that the FDA would be violating the physician’s right to prescribe if they
removed Panalba. You feel that the fact that the doctors have been using Panalba for the past 13 years
indicates that it must have some value.
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