Traditional Values

Executive Summary

The rise of the large-volume purchaser of health care scared the industry's strategists into hyperactivity, prompting moves-most prominently by Merck, SmithKline and Lilly-into the service business. These services were designed to take pricing pressure off the companies' core businesses by putting the cost of products into a larger context and helping customers save money in other areas; in the process perhaps also creating another revenue stream for the manufacturer.