A failure of infrastructure and service integration: The case of US 6 093 403

Worldwide, the occurrence of Type II diabetes is outpacing population growth, and it will rank among mankind's main disablers and killers during the next few decades. The current dominant design for treating this scourge consists of four parts aimed at managing the disease: education and diagnosis; blood sugar monitoring; diet; and exercise. But what if a cure were possible, even without pharmaceutical intervention; better, what if diabetes could be prevented? In 2000, US 6 093 403 offered this promise: an herbal formulation will not only lower blood glucose levels, but also prevent Type II diabetes. Clinical trials showed evidence of the promise among human subjects, and experimental results supported by NIH funding implied that prevention was possible. This herbal formulation consisted of nothing more than plant extracts. Yet, the science-based entrepreneurs failed in their attempts to commercialize the promise. Why? The answer is a classic case of the failure in infrastructure integration and service: in the broader sense of missed connections across the entire value chain, not merely information technology.