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204 grow from within

changing or even debilitating pain. The Cellular Therapies con-
cept hypothesized the application of the patient’s own stem
cells to create new microvessels to the heart. Most significant,
Baxter would enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage based
on a significant patent portfolio that Baxter had purchased
involving the underlying CD34 cells.
Baxter CSO Riedel provided the funding and authority to
pursue Phase I clinical trials for the cardiac application. While
such an application is always a significant commitment, send-
ing this concept through trials presented additional compli-
cations, as Baxter was still in the midst of its 2004 downturn.
Additionally, some Baxterians failed to understand the busi-
ness model, while others thought that entering the cardiac
market would be difficult, as it required the company to
develop new channels. While these factors did increase the
risk profile of the project, some senior people attributed much
higher risk to the project than was probably warranted by the
data. It was certainly held to higher standards during resource
allocation. Such discussions of uncertainty and risk manage-
ment are inherent in early-stage projects and ultimately
require management judgment. Riedel and Hunt were even-
tually able to make their case, but they faced significant resist-
ance in the process.
Speaking in 2008, Riedel listed a number of reasons why
some people at Baxter did not want to continue pursuing new
applications for Cellular Therapies, including
“We’re not in cardiovascular diseases.”
“Stem cell therapy is so far into the future, it shouldn’t be us
who pioneers it.”
“Who knows how the FDA feels about this kind of stuff? It’s
so new.”
Riedel acknowledged that these were all valid arguments,
but he also managed to counter them by saying,