Author: Taylor Warfield, Former Bain Manager and interviewer

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Life science case interviews are 30 to 45-minute exercises used by consulting firms to test how you solve business problems for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and diagnostics companies. They are the centerpiece of the hiring process at every firm that runs a life sciences practice.

 

If you are interviewing at a specialist firm like ZS, Clearview Healthcare Partners, Putnam, IQVIA, or Health Advances, expect nearly every case to be life sciences themed. Even at MBB and other generalist firms with healthcare practices, you can get a life sciences case at any point in the process.

 

In my experience interviewing hundreds of candidates at Bain, life science cases trip people up for one reason. Candidates apply generic frameworks instead of accounting for the industry's unique dynamics: long R&D timelines, regulatory hurdles, payer complexity, and high failure rates.

 

This guide gives you everything you need to ace life science case interviews. The industry knowledge you must have, the 6 most common case types, a life science specific framework, a step-by-step worked example, and 8 practice cases.

 

But first, a quick heads up:

 

McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other top firms accept less than 1% of applicants every year. If you want to triple your chances of landing interviews and 8x your chances of passing them, watch my free 40-minute training.

 

What Changed in 2026?

 

This guide has been refreshed for 2026 with three new sections. A side-by-side comparison of life science cases versus standard consulting cases, a tailored framework with four industry-specific buckets, and a full worked example based on a medical device launch.

 

The industry trends and practice case list have also been updated to reflect the latest dynamics in AI drug discovery, GLP-1 drugs, cell and gene therapies, and biosimilar growth.

 

What Is a Life Science Case Interview?

 

A life science case interview is a 30 to 45-minute business problem-solving exercise set in the life sciences industry. You work with the interviewer to analyze a situation, structure your thinking, and deliver a clear recommendation.

 

The life sciences industry covers companies that research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize products to protect or improve human and animal life. This includes pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, contract research organizations, and animal health.

 

According to IQVIA, global pharmaceutical spending alone exceeded $1.6 trillion in 2024 and is projected to reach $2.3 trillion by 2028. That scale is why every major consulting firm has a dedicated life sciences practice.

 

Which Firms Give Life Science Case Interviews?

 

You can encounter life science case interviews at two types of firms. Generalist consulting firms with life sciences practices, and specialist firms that focus exclusively on the industry.

 

Do MBB Firms Give Life Science Cases?

 

Yes. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain all have large life sciences and healthcare practices and regularly assign life sciences cases during interviews. McKinsey even publishes an official pharmaceutical practice case called GlobaPharm on its careers site.

 

At MBB, life sciences cases come up frequently even for candidates not applying specifically to the healthcare practice. Based on candidate debrief data, roughly 15 to 20% of MBB case interviews involve life sciences scenarios.

 

Which Specialist Firms Focus on Life Sciences?

 

If you are interviewing at a life sciences specialist firm, expect nearly every case to be industry specific. The top specialist firms include:

 

• ZS Associates

 

• Clearview Healthcare Partners

 

• Putnam (formerly Putnam Associates)

 

• Health Advances

 

• Trinity Life Sciences

 

• IQVIA Consulting

 

• Simon-Kucher (life sciences practice)

 

• LEK Consulting (life sciences practice)

 

• Huron Consulting (healthcare practice)

 

How Are Life Science Cases Different from Standard Cases?

 

Life science cases follow the same general format as other consulting cases but require sector-specific knowledge to perform well. The table below summarizes the key differences.

 

Dimension	Standard Cases	Life Science Cases
Stakeholders	Company, customers, competitors	Patients, physicians, payers, regulators, hospitals
Pricing	Cost-plus or competitive pricing	Value-based, payer negotiation, formulary tiers
Regulations	Minimal regulatory focus	FDA or EMA approval, clinical trial phases, patent protection
Time to revenue	Immediate or short-term	10 to 15 years from discovery to first sale for new drugs
Risk factors	Market and competitive risk	Clinical failure, regulatory rejection, patent cliffs, reimbursement denial

 

The single most common mistake I see candidates make is treating a life science case like a generic profitability or market entry case. Interviewers want to see that your structure accounts for regulatory pathways, clinical evidence, and payer dynamics from the first minute.

 

What Life Sciences Industry Knowledge Do You Need?

 

You do not need a science degree to ace life science case interviews. But you do need to understand three areas: the major segments of the industry, the basics of how drugs and devices get to market, and the trends shaping the sector today.

 

What Are the Major Segments of the Life Sciences Industry?

 

The life sciences industry has six major segments. Knowing the differences helps you tailor your framework and ask sharper clarifying questions.

 

• Pharmaceuticals: Small-molecule drugs developed and sold by companies like Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, and Eli Lilly. Roughly $1.5 trillion in global revenue in 2024.

 

• Biotechnology: Biologic therapies developed using living cells, including monoclonal antibodies and cell and gene therapies. Major players: Roche, Amgen, Regeneron, Vertex.

 

• Medical devices: Equipment from MRI machines to surgical robots to wearables. Major players: Medtronic, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Abbott.

 

• Diagnostics: Lab tests, imaging, point-of-care diagnostics. Major players: Thermo Fisher, Roche Diagnostics, Danaher, Quest Diagnostics.

 

• Contract research organizations (CROs): Outsourced clinical trial and research providers like IQVIA, Labcorp, and Parexel.

 

• Animal health: Veterinary pharmaceuticals and devices from Zoetis, Elanco, and Boehringer Ingelheim.

 

How Do Drugs and Devices Get to Market?

 

Every prescription drug goes through a multi-stage pipeline before reaching patients. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, bringing a single drug to market costs an average of $2.6 billion and takes 10 to 15 years.

 

Stage	Duration	What Happens	Success Rate
Preclinical	3 to 6 years	Lab and animal safety testing	About 5% reach Phase I
Phase I	1 to 2 years	Safety and dosage in 20 to 100 people	About 63% advance
Phase II	1 to 3 years	Efficacy in 100 to 500 patients	About 31% advance
Phase III	2 to 4 years	Large efficacy trials with 1,000 to 5,000 patients	About 58% advance
FDA review	1 to 2 years	Regulatory review and approval	About 85% approved

 

Medical devices follow a different regulatory path. The FDA classifies devices into three risk tiers. Class I devices like bandages need almost no review. Class II devices like infusion pumps go through the 510(k) clearance process, which takes 3 to 6 months. Class III devices like pacemakers go through the Premarket Approval (PMA) process, which typically takes 1 to 3 years.

 

What Life Sciences Trends Should You Know?

 

Interviewers expect you to be conversant in major trends. Mentioning a relevant one when it connects to the case shows business awareness.

 

• AI in drug discovery: AI tools are reducing early-stage discovery timelines by up to 40%, according to McKinsey. Firms like Insilico Medicine and Recursion have built entire pipelines around AI-driven targets.

 

• GLP-1 boom: The GLP-1 drug class (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) crossed $50 billion in global sales by 2025. This has reshaped pharma strategy and put pressure on payer budgets.

 

• Cell and gene therapies: Approved cell and gene therapies grew from a handful in 2017 to over 40 by early 2026. These therapies often command prices of $500,000 to over $4 million per patient.

 

• Biosimilars: Biologic patents are expiring on roughly $200 billion in annual drug revenue between 2025 and 2030. Biosimilars typically cost 15 to 35% less than the reference biologic.

 

• Patent cliffs: When a blockbuster loses patent protection, generic entry can cut revenue 80% or more within months. The Congressional Budget Office estimates generic competition saves the US healthcare system over $300 billion per year.

 

• Outsourcing to CROs: The global CRO market reached roughly $80 billion in 2025 as pharma and biotech companies increasingly outsource clinical trials, manufacturing, and even commercialization.

 

What Are the Most Common Life Science Case Types?

 

Life science case interviews fall into six common case interview types. Recognizing the type quickly helps you build a relevant framework instead of forcing a generic structure.

 

Case Type	What It Tests	Sample Prompt
Market Sizing	Patient population, treatment rates, revenue forecasting	What is the US market size for a new continuous glucose monitor?
Pricing and Reimbursement	Value-based pricing, payer dynamics, formulary placement	How should our client price a new gene therapy for sickle cell disease?
Market Entry	Geographic or therapeutic area expansion	Should a European biotech launch its drug in the US, or out-license to a US partner?
Product Launch	Go-to-market strategy, salesforce sizing, channel design	Plan the first-year rollout for a new oncology biologic in the US.
M&A and R&D Portfolio	Acquisition valuation, pipeline prioritization, risk-adjusted NPV	Should a large pharma acquire a biotech with a Phase II Alzheimer's drug?
Operational and Profitability	Cost reduction, salesforce ROI, manufacturing efficiency	A medical device firm's margins are declining. Find the cause and fix it.

 

Market sizing, pricing, and product launch cases are the most common at specialist firms like ZS, Health Advances, and Clearview. M&A and portfolio cases come up more often at MBB and at firms like LEK and Trinity. Drug pricing and pipeline cases are especially common in pharma case interviews.

 

What Framework Should You Use for Life Science Cases?

 

Standard case interview frameworks work as a starting point, but life science cases need a structure that accounts for clinical risk, regulatory hurdles, and the unique payer environment. Here is a life science specific framework with four buckets you can adapt to almost any case type.

 

Bucket 1: Market and Patient Opportunity

 

How large and attractive is the market? Explore patient population size, disease prevalence and incidence, current diagnosis and treatment rates, market growth rate, and unmet medical need. For instance, if only 40% of patients with a disease are diagnosed and treated, there is significant headroom for a new therapy to capture share.

 

Bucket 2: Science, Clinical, and Regulatory Path

 

What is the product's scientific and regulatory profile? Cover efficacy and safety compared to existing options, where the product sits in the development pipeline (Phase I, II, III, or approved), and probability of success at remaining stages. Also consider regulatory advantages like Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, or Orphan Drug designation, which can accelerate approval.

 

Bucket 3: Competitive Position and Commercial Access

 

How will the product compete and reach patients? Look at competing therapies and their prices, your differentiation and value proposition, the payer environment and reimbursement, formulary tier expectations, physician adoption barriers, and the go-to-market plan including salesforce sizing.

 

Bucket 4: Financial Viability and Risk

 

Will this make money on a risk-adjusted basis? Cover expected revenues (volume multiplied by price multiplied by persistence), production and commercial costs, probability-weighted NPV for pipeline assets, payback period, and key risks like cannibalization, generic or biosimilar entry, and clinical failure.

 

You will not use all four buckets in every case. For a pricing case, focus on buckets 1 and 3. For an M&A case, all four matter. The key is to pick the most relevant buckets and customize the sub-questions for the specific case.

 

How Do You Solve a Life Science Case Step by Step?

 

There are six steps to solving any life science case interview. These work for both candidate-led and interviewer-led formats.

 

Step 1: Understand the Case and Clarify the Objective

 

Take detailed notes as the interviewer reads the prompt. Focus on the context, the company, and the business objective. Summarize what you heard back to the interviewer and confirm the business question.

 

Solving the wrong problem is the fastest way to fail a case interview. If anything is unclear, ask now.

 

Step 2: Build a Tailored Framework

 

Ask the interviewer for one to two minutes of silence to think. Choose three to four buckets from the life science framework above and customize the sub-bullets to fit the case. Walk the interviewer through your structure clearly and explain why you chose each bucket.

 

Step 3: Open the Case

 

In a candidate-led case, propose where you want to start and give a one-sentence reason for that choice. In an interviewer-led case, the interviewer directs you to the first question. Either way, connect your starting point back to the overall objective.

 

Step 4: Solve Quantitative Problems

 

Life science math often involves probability-weighted calculations, patient population estimates, and reimbursement scenarios. Lay out your approach before doing any math. Use round numbers and sense-check as you go.

 

Step 5: Answer Qualitative Questions

 

For brainstorming, group ideas into categories rather than listing them randomly. For opinion questions, state your position first, then enumerate two to three supporting reasons. Always tie your answer back to the case objective.

 

Step 6: Deliver Your Recommendation

 

Lead with a clear, direct answer to the business question. Support it with two to three findings from your analysis. Close with next steps you would investigate if you had more time or data.

 

Worked Example: A Life Science Case from Start to Finish

 

Let's walk through a full life science case. This worked example is a market entry case for a medical device, which is one of the most common scenarios at firms like Health Advances and ZS.

 

The Case Prompt

 

Your client is a US medical device company that has developed a new continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Their CGM sensor lasts 30 days, compared to 10 to 14 days for the leading competitors. They are deciding whether to launch in the US and at what price. What is your recommendation?

 

Step 1: Understand and Clarify

 

Summarize: "Our client is a US medical device firm with a 30-day CGM, roughly three times the wear time of competitors. Our objective is to recommend whether to launch in the US and at what price. Is that correct?"

 

Good clarifying questions: How many people in the US use CGMs today? Is the device FDA cleared or approved? Who are the main competitors and what do they charge? Is the business model a monthly sensor subscription?

 

The interviewer tells you: roughly 5 million people in the US currently use CGMs. The device has FDA 510(k) clearance. The two main competitors charge about $300 per month for sensors. The business model is a monthly sensor subscription.

 

Step 2: Structure the Framework

 

Use the life science framework with three tailored buckets:

 

• Market opportunity: How large is the addressable CGM population and how fast is it growing?

 

• Competitive position and reimbursement: How do payers cover CGMs, and what does our 30-day wear time mean competitively?

 

• Financial analysis: What price maximizes revenue while securing payer coverage and meeting margin targets?

 

Step 3: Size the Market

 

Currently 5 million CGM users in the US. Industry analysts estimate the addressable population is 20 million when you include all Type 1 and insulin-using Type 2 diabetics. The market is growing roughly 20% per year. If our client captured 5% share of current users in year one, that is 250,000 patients.

 

Step 4: Assess the Competition and Payer Picture

 

Two competitors at $300 per month means roughly $3,600 per patient per year in spend. Our 30-day sensor means patients change sensors monthly instead of every 10 to 14 days, which cuts the number of insertions by about two-thirds. That is a meaningful patient experience improvement that supports a price premium.

 

Payer reimbursement is critical. Leading commercial payers and Medicare cover CGMs for patients on intensive insulin therapy. Our extended wear could lower per-month sensor costs to the payer if priced correctly, which strengthens the reimbursement case.

 

Step 5: Determine the Pricing Strategy

 

Three pricing lenses:

 

• Cost-based: Production cost is roughly $80 per sensor. Any price above this generates positive margin.

 

• Value-based: Patients value fewer insertions and longer wear. The convenience premium supports pricing at parity with current monthly spend of $300.

 

• Competition-based: Pricing at $280 to $300 per month puts us at parity with competitors despite offering three times the wear time, which positions us strongly for payer coverage and physician adoption.

 

At $290 per month and 250,000 patients in year one, annual revenue is $870 million. Year-one cost of goods at $80 per month per patient is $240 million, leaving roughly $630 million in gross margin before commercial expenses.

 

Step 6: Deliver the Recommendation

 

"I recommend launching in the US at $290 per month for three reasons. First, the 30-day wear time provides clear clinical and convenience value that justifies premium pricing while staying at parity with competitor monthly spend, which eases payer adoption. Second, at $290 per month and roughly 250,000 patients in year one, the launch generates about $870 million in revenue with strong gross margins. Third, the US CGM market is growing 20% per year, so the runway for share gain is substantial."

 

"For next steps, I would validate payer coverage assumptions with the top five commercial plans and Medicare, run a physician willingness-to-prescribe survey, and model a 5-year revenue trajectory factoring in likely competitor price reactions."

 

What Clarifying Questions Should You Ask in Life Science Cases?

 

The right clarifying questions show the interviewer that you understand the industry. Here are 10 life science specific questions grouped by category. Pick the two to four most relevant to the case prompt you receive.

 

Disease and Market Questions

 

• What is the prevalence and incidence of the condition in our target market?

 

• What percentage of patients are currently diagnosed and treated?

 

• Is this condition chronic or acute, and how long do patients typically stay on treatment?

 

Product Characteristics Questions

 

• How does our product's efficacy and safety profile compare to existing options?

 

• What is the dosing or use regimen (oral, injection, infusion, wearable)?

 

• Where is the product in development or regulatory review, and what is the expected approval timeline?

 

Competitive and Payer Questions

 

• How many competing products exist and what do they charge?

 

• What is the payer mix between commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid?

 

• Are there competing products in late-stage development that could enter within 2 to 3 years?

 

• Does our client have an existing salesforce and physician relationships in this therapeutic area?

 

What Are the Best Tips for Life Science Case Interviews?

 

Having coached hundreds of candidates through life science case interviews, here are the six tips that make the biggest difference in performance.

 

Tip 1: Learn the Core Vocabulary

 

You do not need to know mechanisms of action. You do need to know terms like efficacy, safety profile, indication, formulary, payer, prevalence, incidence, and patent expiration. If the interviewer says "formulary tier" and you freeze, that is a red flag.

 

Tip 2: Understand the Value Chain

 

The life sciences value chain runs from discovery through R&D, regulatory approval, manufacturing, commercial launch, and post-market surveillance. Most cases sit in one or two parts of this chain. Knowing where the case fits helps you ask better questions and build a tighter framework.

 

Tip 3: Practice Probability-Weighted Math

 

Life science math often involves probability chains. A drug with a 30% chance of passing Phase II and a 60% chance of passing Phase III has an 18% probability of reaching market from Phase II. Practice these calculations and net present value math until they feel automatic.

 

Tip 4: Do Not Over-Index on Medical Knowledge

 

Consulting firms do not expect you to recall the mechanism of action of every drug class. They expect you to think like a business strategist. If the interviewer gives you clinical data, treat it as a business input ("the drug is 35% better, so it justifies a premium"), not a medical one.

 

Tip 5: Use a Hypothesis-Driven Approach

 

Form a working hypothesis early. For a launch case, your hypothesis might be: "We should launch because the unmet need is large and our clinical profile is differentiated." Refine it as you analyze data. This keeps the case focused and shows the interviewer you think like a consultant.

 

Tip 6: Apply the 80/20 Rule

 

You will not get to every area of your framework. Spend your time on the two or three drivers that have the biggest impact on the recommendation. Skipping a side issue is fine. Skipping the core question is fatal.

 

If you want personalized feedback on your case performance, my interview coaching sessions can accelerate your prep. You will improve about 5x faster than practicing on your own.

 

What Life Science Case Interview Practice Cases Should You Use?

 

Below are four life science case studies you can use to practice. We recommend working through at least four before your interviews.

• McKinsey pharmaceutical case: This is an acquisition case focused on whether a large pharmaceutical company should acquire a smaller startup

 

• BCG drug pricing case (see video below): This is a pricing case focused on helping a pharmaceutical company determine the optimal price for a new drug

 

• Clearview pharmaceutical case: This is a market sizing case focused on helping a pharmaceutical company determine whether it can achieve its revenue target for an inhaled insulin product for the diabetes market

 

• Clearview biotechnology case: This is a quantitative case focused on helping a biotechnology firm assess its novel therapies for acute myeloid leukemia

Below, we have step-by-step videos showcasing how we would solve the McKinsey pharmaceutical case and the BCG drug pricing case listed above. The McKinsey case is an interviewer-led case while the BCG case is a candidate-led case. Together, these videos will give you an idea of what to expect in both styles of case interview formats.

 

 

 

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