pharmaceutical case study lek

The LEK Case Interview: Our Comprehensive Guide

• Last Updated April, 2024

Congratulations! You’ve landed an LEK interview. Now you want to know how to make the most of this opportunity and land your dream job in consulting.

Preparation for any consulting interview is tough, and it’s no different for LEK Consulting. You’ll want to understand how to ace a case interview, what behavioral / fit questions to expect, and how to prepare your answers. AND there’s the LEK written case.

But don’t worry. We’ve got the answers for you.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• LEK’s culture & values.
• LEK Consulting’s interview process.
• The LEK case interview.
• LEK’s behavioral interview.
• How to ace the LEK written case interview.
• Our 7 tips on passing the LEK interview process.

Let’s get started!

LEK Consulting's Culture & Values

LEK's Behavioral Interview

The LEK Consulting Interview Process

How to ace the lek written case interview, the lek case interview, our 7 tips on passing the lek interview process, lek consulting’s culture & values.

To ace the LEK interview, especially the behavioral / fit questions, it’s important to put in the time to get to know LEK’s history, culture, and values. In fact, we recommend doing this for any firm you are applying to. Here’s a brief snapshot to help set you up for success.

LEK was founded in 1983 and named after three partners: James Lawrence, Iain Evans, and Richard Koch, therefore, the name L.E.K. LEK’s presence spans 20 offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with Iain Evans as the firm’s Global Chairman and Clay Heskett as Global Managing Partner. Each of LEK’s 1600+ professionals is aligned to a fundamental goal of helping LEK’s clients maximize the potential of their business. It’s why LEK prides itself in hiring people who value analysis over assumption – what LEK calls “valuing evidence over opinion.”

LEK has a particularly strong  practice serving life sciences clients, so if you have a background in biopharma, healthcare and related services, or MedTech, it could be a great match for you.

The culture of LEK is very open, supportive, and non-hierarchical with a strong emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. Teams are encouraged to openly discuss any issues / challenges. For instance, LEK has a “traffic light” system to manage work-life balance for its employees. Every Friday, the manager on the team proactively shares which nights of the coming week they expect the team to be working late. This helps everyone plan their work and schedules accordingly.

LEK also invests in maintaining a vibrant office social culture. Social committees organize events for colleagues to unwind after work and foster camaraderie to build lasting friendships. Watch The LEK Culture to learn more.

The LEK interview process follows these steps:

• Submit your application on LEK’s online application system provided by Oleeo.
• Take the LEK Digital Assessment , a series of games that are simple and intuitive (e.g., mental math, pattern recognition, etc.), that takes about 10 minutes to complete. From 2020, the LEK digital assessment has been included as part of the company’s application process. However, it is unclear if LEK is using data from these assessments to move candidates on in the recruitment process.
• Interview . Each interview round includes both case studies and behavioral / fit questions. Case studies can be either quantitative or strategic / qualitative in nature. You may also be asked to complete a written case interview , where you will need to present your case solving approach and recommendations in PowerPoint slides.
• Initial interviews are typically conducted by recruitment specialists and consultants. Later interviews are led by senior managers or LEK Partners. LEK typically administers two rounds of interviews with 2-3 interviews in each round, depending on which office / geography you’re applying to.
• Receive your decision. After successfully navigating the LEK interview process, you’ll finally receive the coveted letter that welcomes you as the newest member of LEK’s team. Congratulations!

The LEK case interview is a business problem that you solve live with guidance from an interviewer. It involves showing that you know how to think and communicate in a structured way and that you use analysis over assumption in developing recommendations (LEK’s culture values evidence over opinion).

Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep explains in depth what the case interview is and details its various stages:

• The opening,
• The structure,
• The analysis, and
• The conclusion.

It also gives you tips on how to become proficient at each stage. The best way to get smarter about answering case interview questions is to master this four-part approach.

The LEK Case Interview: The Details

LEK case interviews are designed to assess your quantitative skills, business logic, and strategic thinking. LEK typically administers two rounds of interviews with 2-3 interviews in each round. The case constitutes the meat of each interview. For instance, if the interview duration is 30 mins, ~20 mins will be used for the case and the remaining ~10 mins will be for introductions, behavioral / fit questions, and wrap-up.

LEK case interviews are candidate-led, similar to BCG and Bain cases. Essentially, this means you are expected to drive the case using the information provided to you. Consider the interviewer your biggest asset and keep drawing on him/her to share more information as you progress through the case. A few guidelines for a candidate-led interview:

• Ask sufficient preliminary questions to clearly scope the problem statement. You’re in charge, so the interviewer may or may not reveal relevant information to you at the outset. Therefore, it is on you to spend enough time processing the problem statement and clarifying with the interviewer to make sure you solve the right problem.
• In your case structuring, ensure that you talk through your approach and take the interviewer along with you on the problem-solving journey. It works best to lay out your overall approach, classify the buckets of issues you plan to solve, and seek your interviewer’s go-ahead as you move from one bucket to the next.
• Articulate your initial hypothesis including the data you need to prove/disprove the same. Many times as we are in the driver’s seat during a candidate-led case, we inadvertently miss out on communicating key assumptions or limitations of our approach. Remember to over-communicate!
• Track your time. It’s fine to check in with the interviewer on how much granularity they want to get into, if the analysis needs to be strengthened with more data (or a different dataset), if it’s time for synthesis, etc. If they tell you to move on without further analysis, you may be running short on time and be at risk of not moving fast enough to present your recommendation.

LEK case interviews tend to focus on market sizing and strategy. This strongly correlates with the day-to-day expectations for a consultant at LEK where market sizing is deployed in due diligence and strategy projects. Market sizing questions focus on estimating the size of a market in terms of annual revenue or the number of units sold rather than determining how to compete successfully in the market.

Examples of Market Sizing Questions :

What is the size of the consulting industry in the UK?

What would be the annual revenue of McDonald’s in the USA?

These questions test your problem-solving ability by assessing how you size a market using reasonable assumptions. It’s critical to lay out a sound approach even though you may not get to the “right” answer (the interviewers are mostly interested in the former).

We have curated a detailed guide for you on how to ace Market Sizing Questions . It details 2 approaches you can use to accurately estimate and answer any market sizing question you might be asked in your LEK consulting interview. After you have reviewed these approaches, head over to the Market Sizing Interview case sample question shared by LEK to test your skills.

Finally, LEK does the majority of its work across the healthcare, industrial, consumer, and private equity sectors, and they are particularly strong in life sciences in some markets. Therefore, if you have a background in this area, it is ideal if you prepare for cases focusing on biopharma, healthcare and related services, and MedTech to “dazzle” them during your interviews.

LEK’s Behavioral Interview

The behavioral and fit elements in the LEK interview assess whether you have the personal qualities required of a successful consultant and whether you can use them effectively within the culture of LEK. It’s the classic test of whether the interviewers see you as a good fit for the team, the LEK culture and values, and if they’d be comfortable having you work with clients. 

Therefore, you should be prepared to answer questions about your experience with teamwork, conflict resolution, and leadership.

Common LEK Behavioral Interview Questions

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why are you interested in working for LEK?
• Why Consulting?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What is the most challenging project you have done?

As you prepare for these questions, it is relevant to note that the richer you make your narrative, the better your answer will sound to the interviewer. To do this, make sure you highlight examples demonstrating leadership skills, and get into specific details of the impact you brought to the project or the organization. Head to our comprehensive article on behavioral interviews to find out more about how to prepare strong answers for the behavioral interview questions.

Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 89.6% of our clients pass the case interview.

LEK is one of the few firms that test candidates via written case interviews. Let’s break it down step-by-step so that you are aware of what to expect and how to prepare to come out with flying colors.

Unlike a regular case interview in which you discuss a business problem with your interviewer, in a written case interview, your written work and analysis will become the center of discussion.

What does that entail?

You’ll be provided with slides/handouts containing information in a text-based format. There could also be charts for you to perform analysis on. The ultimate objective is for you to wade through the sea of information on those pages to identify opportunities or the root cause of the problems presented. Then, you’ll neatly synthesize (not summarize!) the recommendations for the clients. Lastly, you’ll present your solution to the interviewers.

The written case tests your analytical skills as you work through the data to prepare analysis, and it tests your synthesis and communication skills as you write down your recommendations and present them to the interviewers. Typically, you get:

• ~1 hour to complete the analysis and synthesize recommendations
• 30 minutes to present your work: ~20 minutes to share your slides and ~10 minutes for Q&A with your interviewers.

We recommend that you go through our comprehensive guide to The LEK Written Case Interview to set yourself up for success when you’re faced with a written case.

Preparation tips

1. Get Started Early

Avoid the last-minute rush and the stress it can add to your state of mind and performance in your LEK interview. This is especially important for LEK as its interview process includes a few unique elements (i.e. the digital assessment and the written case interviews).

Starting early also helps you plan your preparation schedule better to accommodate other priorities you may have on work, family, study, etc. Ultimately, the sooner you start, the more time you have to hone your case-solving skills for the interview, so no matter where you are in your journey of interviewing with LEK, getting a headstart will certainly be beneficial.

Case interview tips

2. Brush Up on Analytical Skills

LEK places strong emphasis on analytical skills. This doesn’t mean that you need to learn regression and coordinate geometry (though with LEK’s emphasis on biopharma work, that could give you an edge!) .  You should be comfortable with numbers and simple business analytics (e.g., linear equations with single variables, basic mathematical formulas applied in day-to-day business, such as Profit = Revenue – Costs).

Given that LEK is known to test its candidates on market sizing, chances are you will be required to perform some quantitative analysis during your case interviews. And if you’ve prepared well on math fundamentals, then you will not only feel “in control” of the case analysis but also exude confidence in your quantitative problem-solving skills. And that’s exactly what you want your interviewer to take away!

For a structured preparation, head to Case Interview Math to learn the different types of math problems tested in cases and equip yourself with the right tips and techniques to minimize math mistakes. Make the numbers work for you!

3. Bring in the Structure

One of the most important skills you need to develop to be able to pass LEK case interviews is case structuring. You need to ensure you have covered all the relevant factors in your overarching case structure before you begin to deep-dive into any single issue. You shouldn’t come across as someone who can intuitively think of a few factors but who jumps too quickly into case solving. The ideal candidate would spend sufficient time understanding the problem statement, scoping out different factors contributing to the case, all the while ensuring that no critical piece of information is left untouched. Because, if you are able to set up a strong structure, then solving the case becomes much more streamlined.

We recommend that you review Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep to master the 4 stages of solving a case, one of which is structuring.

4. Articulate Evidence over Opinion

One of LEK’s core values is “analysis over assumption,” also referred to as “evidence over opinion.” LEK consultants pride themselves on being analysis-driven and basing their recommendations for clients on strong data-backed evidence. Therefore, they actively look for this trait in their potential hires. In fact, all of the components of the interview process – from case interviews to behavioral assessments – test candidates’ analytical skills not only in their problem solving but also in their communication.

One way to turn the tables in your favor is to actively demonstrate this trait across all interview rounds that you face. During your LEK case interview, base your hypotheses on some supporting data points. When you’re presenting your solutions / recommendations to the interviewer, use phrases such as “The data suggests that…” or “Driven by the results of our analysis on…” When you share examples of your past projects during your behavioral / fit interview, ground your opinions in data. Always remember to share your rationale and critical thinking with the interviewer.

5. When in Doubt, Ask!

It is easy to get absorbed in the process of solving the case, especially when you’re in a candidate-led case interview setting. You must remember that the interviewer is your greatest asset. He/she holds relevant information that you can use to successfully navigate the case. Therefore, whenever you feel stuck during the case interview, ASK your interviewer if you’re headed in the right direction.

A great way of doing this is to first articulate your hypothesis so that the interviewer is looped in with your thought process and then say something like this: “Is this the right way to think about this problem statement?” or “Do you think this is ok to proceed with?” and then pause for your interviewer to respond. Similarly, in a market sizing case, if at any point you feel that the assumption you’re making is a bit of a stretch, clarify with the interviewer the limitations of such an assumption.

It is always better to keep checking in and asking the interviewer on the way forward as long as you’re clearly sharing the hypotheses and rationale behind each of your moves.

  Behavioral / fit assessment tips

6. Build a Story

The simplest way to ace your behavioral interview is to make your interviewers remember you. One of the easiest ways to make your answers memorable is to weave them together into a strong and compelling narrative.

• Build a story using your past experiences and share them with the interviewer.
• Highlight the impact that you brought to the team, to the project, to the organization in your previous roles.
• Spend time demonstrating your potential to your interviewer, talk honestly about your strengths and weaknesses, and be yourself. After all, it’s your story! The interviewers are looking for genuine folks, people who have strong integrity, are helpful and collaborative, and are fun to work with. Take the time to get to know the interviewer and share stories about yourself so that the interviewer gets to know you.

7. Confidence Is Key

As a consultant, you’ll work on some of the most challenging business problems. You will face difficult clients and encounter some difficult situations and will need to stay calm and confident. This is also exactly what your interviewer will be testing for. The interviewers are taking cues from your body language as you respond to their questions, as you solve the case, even as you present your recommendations. What this means for you is that projecting confidence will hold you in good stead.

One way to naturally feel more confident is to put in sufficient practice in the days or weeks leading up to the interview. The more case practice you have under your belt, the more calm and composed you will stay during the interview. For instance, if you appear nervous or shaky in your quantitative skills, the interviewer may not like to put you in front of the client where LEK’s credibility may come into question. Therefore, you must exude confidence not only in your voice but also in the entirety of your body language. The way you walk into the interview room, how you sit up, your eye contact with the interviewer, the way you solve the case – everything matters.

Remember to smile, pause, respond calmly, reflect before you answer, and humbly admit what you don’t know. Confidence is the key to cracking the LEK interview process.

We wish you the best!

– – – – –

In this article, we’ve covered:

• LEK’s culture and values.
• The LEK Consulting interview process.
• An overview of LEK case interviews (including market sizing and the LEK written case) and behavioral / fit assessments.
• 7 Tips to successfully pass the LEK interview process.

Still have questions?

If you have more questions about the LEK interview, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s case coaches will answer them.

Other people prepping for the LEK case interview found the following pages helpful:

• Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep .
• Market Sizing Questions .
• The LEK Written Case

Help with Case Study Interview Prep

Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on passing the LEK interview. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 85% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how Tracy was able to get her offer from LEK Consulting.

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3 Top Strategies to Master the Case Interview in Under a Week

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Hacking the Case Interview

If you’re interviewing for a life sciences consulting firm, expect to be given several case interviews, or case study interviews, during your interview process.

A case interview is a special type of interview that nearly every single consulting firm uses, including life sciences consulting firms. Firms that use case interviews include: Clearview Healthcare Partners , Putnam Associates , IQVIA , ZS , Simon-Kucher , Health Advances , and Huron Consulting .

Case interviews simulate the consulting job by placing you in a hypothetical business situation in which you are asked to solve a challenging problem. These interviews typically last between 30 to 45 minutes and you’ll be working closely with your interviewer towards developing a recommendation or answer to the business problem.

Case study interviews are so widely used by life sciences consulting firms because they assess many of the qualities needed to become successful consultants. With just a 30- to 45-minute exercise, an interviewer can gauge your analytical capabilities, business acumen, communication skills, and cultural fit with the firm.

If you have an upcoming case interview at a life sciences consulting firm, we have you covered. In this article, we’ll cover in detail:  

• Essential life sciences industry knowledge you should know
• The 6 steps to solve any life sciences case interview
• Life sciences consulting case interview examples
• Life sciences consulting case interview tips
• Recommended life sciences case interview resources

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

Essential Life Sciences Industry Knowledge You Should Know

The life sciences industry covers all of the businesses, organizations, and research institutions that are dedicated to protecting and improving human and animal life. There are various types of companies included in life sciences:

• Pharmaceuticals : Roche, Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Eli Lily
• Biotechnology : Novo Nordisk, Regeneron, Alexion, United Therapeutics
• Medical equipment : Stryker, Medtronic, Thermo Fisher, Siemens
• Cosmeceuticals : Johnson & Johnson, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever
• Healthcare facilities : Lab Corp, HCA Healthcare
• Managed healthcare : UnitedHealth, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Humana

The life sciences industry is exciting in that it constantly sees significant changes and technological advancements every few years. Below are a few trends that you should be familiar with:

Artificial intelligence in biopharma : AI-driven tools is now leveraged at all phases of drug research and development. AI-driven software can assist in planning possible synthesis pathways in chemicals to obtain compounds of interest. AI is also leveraged in research areas such as phenotypic drug discovery programs to analyze data through advanced screening approaches.

Revolutionizing supply chains : There has been extensive remodeling of supply chains for strategic products, such as drug, medical equipment, diagnostics, food, and chemicals led by the national regulatory activities in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Automation and modernization : The majority of big pharma companies have been established through different mergers and acquisitions and have adopted portfolios of IT applications in different phases of modernization. Top companies are standardizing business processes, measuring manufacturing, focusing on visibility, and leveraging the right software. They are using industrial automation to overlook processes and drive business value.

Big data : Digitalization in the life sciences industry has resulted in the generation of huge volumes of data, which have to be stored and analyzed accurately to realize their full potential. Many big data techniques can transform unused data into valuable insights.

Blockchain and wearables : Wearable technology is altering the world and has paved the way for many people to monitor health, including sleeping patterns and overall fitness. Blockchain has helped wearable devices and mobile applications connect to a patient hub with all health records, allowing doctors to access a new level of visibility in real-time.

Outsourcing : Pharmaceutical companies are starting to outsource research programs to academic and private contract research organizations (CROs) to stay ahead of the competition in the world of rapidly growing knowledge and advanced technologies. Companies are choosing to outsource certain research and development activities such as clinical trials, efficacy tests in animal models, and assay development.

Telemedicine : Progress in telemedicine is one of the biggest sources of substantial change in the healthcare ecosystem. It is improving the quality of diagnosis and treatment by allowing patients to get proper access to healthcare professionals.

The 6 Steps to Solve Any Life Sciences Case Interview

There are typically six steps to solving life sciences consulting case interviews.

1. Understand the case

Your life sciences case interview will begin with the interviewer giving you the case background information. While the interviewer is speaking, make sure that you are taking meticulous notes on the most important pieces of information. Focus on understanding the context of the situation and the objective of the case.

Don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions if you do not understand something. You may want to summarize the case background information back to the interviewer to confirm your understanding of the case.

The most important part of this step is to verify the objective of the case. Not answering the right business question is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

2. Structure the problem

The next step is to develop a framework to help you solve the case. A framework is a tool that helps you structure and break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable components. Another way to think about frameworks is brainstorming different ideas and organizing them into different categories.

Before you start developing your framework, it is completely acceptable to ask the interviewer for a few minutes so that you can collect your thoughts and think about the problem.

Once you have identified the major issues or areas that you need to explore, walk the interviewer through your framework. They may ask a few questions or provide some feedback.

3. Kick off the case

Once you have finished presenting your framework, you’ll start diving into different areas of your framework to begin solving the case. How this process will start depends on whether the case interview is candidate-led or interviewer-led.

If the case interview is a candidate-led case, you’ll be expected to propose what area of your framework to start investigating. So, propose an area and provide a reason for why you want to start with that area. There is generally no right or wrong area of your framework to pick first.

If the case interview is interviewer-led, the interviewer will tell you what area of the framework to start in or directly give you a question to answer.

4. Solve quantitative problems

Life sciences case interviews may have some quantitative aspect to them. For example, you may be asked to calculate a certain profitability or financial metric. You could also be asked to estimate the size of a particular market or to estimate a particular figure.

The key to solving quantitative problems is to lay out a structure or approach upfront with the interviewer before doing any math calculations. If you lay out and present your structure to solve the quantitative problem and the interviewer approves of it, the rest of the problem is just simple execution of math.

5. Answer qualitative questions

Life sciences case interviews may also have qualitative aspects to them. You may be asked to brainstorm a list of potential ideas. You could also be asked to provide your opinion on a business issue or situation.

The key to answering qualitative questions is to structure your answer. When brainstorming a list of ideas, develop a structure to help you neatly categorize all of your ideas. When giving your opinion on a business issue or situation, provide a summary of your stance or position and then enumerate the reasons that support it.

6. Deliver a recommendation

In the last step of a life sciences case interview, you’ll present your recommendation and provide the major reasons that support it. You do not need to recap everything that you have done in the case, so focus on only summarizing the facts that are most important.

It is also good practice to include potential next steps that you would take if you had more time or data. These can be areas of your framework that you did not have time to explore or lingering questions that you do not have great answers for.

Life Sciences Consulting Case Interview Examples

Below are eight life sciences consulting case studies that you can use to practice your case interview skills. We highly recommend working through at least a few of these before your actual 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
• LEK medical consumables case : This is a market sizing case that estimates the market size for medical consumables by general practitioners in the United Kingdom
• Health Advances biotechnology case : This is a market entry case focused on helping a biotechnology company understand the market opportunity for developing a novel drug that prevents ear infections

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.

We strongly recommend watching these two videos.

Life Sciences Consulting Case Interview Tips

Tip #1: Start preparing early

Mastering case interviews takes time. Many of the skills and techniques needed to solve case interviews can’t be learned in just a day or in a week. Ideally, start preparing for your case interviews at least a month or two in advance to give yourself enough time to learn and practice.

Tip #2: Practice with a case partner

Practicing case interviews with a partner is the best way to simulate a real case interview. There are many aspects of case interviews that you won’t be able to work on if you are doing mock cases by yourself. Casing with a partner lets you practice your communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.

Tip #3: Keep a list of feedback from each case

You should keep a journal or log of all of the different pieces of feedback you get from your case interview partner during practice. This way, you’ll be able to identify trends and prioritize what improvement areas to focus on. For example, if you consistently receive feedback in each practice case that you need to structure your answers, that should be your top area to focus on.

Tip #4: Focus on improving one thing at a time

After doing some practice case interviews, you’ll likely have a long list of feedback and improvement areas. Try to focus on improving one thing at a time. Before each practice case, decide on the one thing that you really want to focus on and nail. This will be much more effective than trying to improve everything at once.

Tip #5: Use a hypothesis-driven approach

During the case interview, you should have a hypothesis of what the answer to the case is. A hypothesis is simply an educated guess based on the knowledge that you have. As you analyze data and gather more information, make sure to be constantly changing and refining your hypothesis.

There are two benefits to using a hypothesis to drive the direction of the case. One, it ensures that you are focusing on relevant areas that will help you solve or answer the case. Two, by the time the interviewer asks you for a recommendation, you will already have a refined hypothesis on what the answer or solution to the case should be.

Tip #6: Be 80/20

You have limited time during a case interview to solve the case. Therefore, you won’t be able to cover all of the different areas in your framework and get answers to every single question that you have. Therefore, focus on the most important issues and use the 80/20 principle.

The 80/20 principle states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of your effort. During a case interview, focus on the most important questions or areas that will have the biggest impact or effect on developing your answer or recommendation.

Recommended Life Sciences Case Interview Resources

Here are the resources we recommend to learn the most robust, effective case interview strategies in the least time-consuming way:

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with former consulting interviewers
• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer
• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple interviews

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L.E.K. Case Interview 2024: Format, Criteria & Examples

According to Vault, L.E.K. Consulting is one of the  top prestigious consulting firms . L.E.K. is a Tier 2 consulting firm (just after MBB consulting firms!) - considerably desirable yet quite challenging to get in L.E.K. employs case interviews as part of their recruitment process for consultants.

Let’s have an overview of the L.E.K. case interview: when to take the interview, assessment criteria, interview format, question example, how to pitch, and how to prepare for the case interview in this article.

Table of Contents

What is L.E.K. case interview?

L.e.k case interview is the last test to become an l.e.k consultant.

The L.E.K. case interview is the screening interview of L.E.K. Consulting, where candidates must solve business problems (or cases). The interview evaluates whether candidates possess the capabilities and qualities to become an L.E.K. consultant.

L.E.K. case interviews are candidate-led , requiring the candidate to lead and manage every step of the case-solving process, including structuring the issue, developing frameworks, requesting data, synthesizing findings, and providing solutions. The interviewer just presents the topic, instead of asking questions concerning the case.

Before getting to the case interview, you must pass the initial screening rounds, which include resume screening and aptitude test.

In the resume round, you’ll of course need a consulting resume, just like what you’d need for McKinsey, and a cover letter, then submit it on L.E.K.’s website.

The aptitude test concerns numerical, verbal, and logical reasoning questions, some offices might even use SHL assessments. It’s quite similar to McKinsey’s problem solving test before it was retired and replaced by the problem solving game. 

There are 2 rounds in the case interview process

The first round (online round) includes a few minutes of fit questions to check candidates’ experience and alignment with the position and two 30-minute cases, one quantitative (something like market-sizing) and one qualitative (like finding a solution). 

Round two will also have a few minutes of fit questions, but now three face-to-face interviews, two oral cases and one written case. 

The oral cases are just like any case interviews from other consulting firms. They’ll usually take 30-45 minutes.

The written case is used by L.E.K. to simulate the actual work of a consultant, in which they need to visually plot out data and insights. It’s quite similar to the oral case, only you’re writing out your thought process instead of speaking it out.

The flow of the written case interview includes 4 stages:

•  Receive the case : You receive the materials and the case questions from the interviewer.
• Prepare for the pitch: You filter and analyze the data to extract the insights, then develop a hypothesis with backup evidence. You also need to prepare for the slides with essential insights.
• Present the pitch: You present the slides and all the hypotheses & evidence with recommendations to the interviewer.
• Have a follow-up Q&A with the interviewer: The interviewer will ask questions regarding your insights and hypotheses to ensure your understanding of the case and analysis of the details.

L.E.K. looks for those with achieving & analytical mindset

Just like all management consulting firms, L.E.K. looks for those who want to make an impact. The main value L.E.K. will look for are:

Outstanding academic achievement: Your GPA and school prestige. Your best bet? 4.0 at Harvard! But jokes aside, a 3.6 GPA should be good. Below that? Try to make focus points in other parts of your resume. This article might help!

Analytical ability: The ability to create a thorough, data-driven, insightful analysis and define the root cause and solutions to difficult problems. You show this in the case interview via constructing issue trees, answer guesstimate questions, etc.

Demonstrated leadership : The ability to inspire and motivate others. Consultants won’t simply look for “leaders” who just tell their subordinates what to do, but a guiding beacon, even for their superiors (very much like telling your boss what to do, but, think of it as inspiring ideas to them).

Collaborative approach : The ability to exchange facts and insights and effectively interact with people from various backgrounds and cultures. You’ll meet people hailing from mathematics, engineering, accounting, psychology, so play your collab cards right

Intellectual curiosity : The ability to actively and continuously seek and expand knowledge. To do this, start reading sơm business papers, and make sure you can absorb them 

L.E.K. case interview example

L.E.K. provides a short introductory page about their interview process, which contains several case interview question samples. You can check it out at the L.E.K. interview preparation guide. However, there is no explanation or answer key for the sample questions.

Still, L.E.K.’s case interviews are quite similar to Bain and BCG’s, so feel free to check out other candidate-led case interview samples here:

Bain case sample: Coffee Shop Co.

Bain case sample: FashionCo.

Bain case sample: Associate Consultant Mock video

BCG Written Case Example - Chateau Boomerang Case

Also, here’s an article on case interview questions if you want to know more about common question types. And check out another article on market-sizing & guesstimate questions , which are quite popular in L.E.K.’s interviews.

How to prepare for L.E.K. case interview

Careful preparation is a must to ace L.E.K.’s case. You can tackle each aspect of the interview step by step.

Start from getting used to candidate-led cases and written cases, then further out with business intuition, consulting math, fundamentals & frameworks of case interview, then finally conduct mock interviews.

Step 1: Get used to the candidate-led case and written case interview

Examine examples of candidate-led case interviews to familiarize yourself with the case flow and how to interact with the interviewer.

You can also get familiar with more case interview samples and all instantly-effective tricks for case interviews with our Case Interview E2E Secret Program. Also, here’s our free video of a case interview example with an explanation and expert comments.

Step 2: Develop business intuition

Having business intuition significantly improves your performance in case interviews. Working on intuition is a gradual process that takes practice every day. You can improve your business intuition in two ways:

Written sources : Read business papers daily (Bloomberg is recommended). You can also find articles on McKinsey, Bain, and BCG’s websites. But be careful! The important thing is not your page count, but what you absorbed from them

First-hand experience and observations : Don't just do things like a machine; find out what the seniors are doing, why they did what they did, and how it has affected the organization. Everything is a learning process, and it’s up to you to squeeze out every bit of knowledge and experience

Step 3: Practice consulting math

L.E.K. will truly put your mental math ability to the test. This is an essential skill since L.E.K. consultants deal with massive amounts of quantitative data. To improve your math, you can:

Train your head : Apply mental calculations on any daily occasion unless an EXACT answer is required

Start small : Use a piece of scratch paper, give yourself some margins of error (5% is a good start); once you get used to it, remove the paper and narrow down the margin of error.

Establish a routine : Spare time for daily practice and get better each day, just like exercise. You’ll never notice the little changes, but they stack up HARD, and when you realize it, you’re probably doing math thrice as fast

Step 4: Learn the fundamentals and frameworks of case interview

L.E.K case interviews (or any other case interview) are based on the fundamentals - using hypotheses and issue trees, the MECE principle, and the frameworks. So, knowing them is extremely important and you should practice the fundamentals until you are comfortable.

A common mistake candidates make during their case interviews is to go straight for the frameworks. Frameworks require extensive adaptation to match actual cases. To customize appropriately, you must understand the fundamental knowledge first.

To know more about case interviews, here’s a dedicated article .

Step 5: Conduct mock case interview

Mock interviews are a great way to simulate the actual case interview session. You should examine your cases in great depth during the mock case interview. Record your session, replay, note the comments, and look for ways to improve.

Find a former consultant to help you with your practice - they are the ideal people; they've been there, they’ll know what a candidate must be. Through their feedback, you can improve on what needs to be improved and boost your chance of getting an offer.

We can also help you connect with consulting coaches (all former consultants!) for a more personalized feedback. Book your mock case interview session with us now !

And don’t forget the fit questions

Fit interviews are not the official round in the L.E.K interview process. Questions are integrated within each case interview. Here are example questions in the L.E.K. fit and behavioral interview.

Still, they do set the tone for the interview, and the interviewer’s impression of you. Nobody likes a bad impression, eh? So, just do your best, even if fit questions aren’t the most important.

Notes on written case interview

To pass all the L.E.K. case interview rounds, you also need to prepare specifically for L.E.K.’s written case interview. Here are some tips:

Enhance fast reading skills

Improving your reading speed will help you process data faster, allowing you to single out the important pieces. You can learn the tips to improve your reading speed in this speed reading techniques article.

Craft your data-analysis skills

The ability to analyze data is the core of the hypothesis-driven approach in consulting. You analyze the information to determine the root cause, formulate a hypothesis, and support your suggestion. To enhance your data analyzing skills for your written case interview, practice data interpretation skills (reading charts, tables, graphs…). 

You can also find out more on this with our Numerical Reasoning Package .

Learn to make consulting slides

In the written case interview, your job is to organize the layout of graphs, tables, findings, and recommendations in a “consulting” style (on paper or in PowerPoint). In real consulting work, the PowerPoint engineers (yes I call them that because they’re so good) will add the bells and whistles to create the final slides for your pitch.

We have a whole article on how to craft and present MBB/consulting slides . Check it out to learn the step-by-step guide.

Deliver a timed and solution-driven pitch

The first thing you should do is to allow a specific time limit for each step of the pitch. When that time limit reaches, stop what you're doing (like skimming data) and move on to the next (like structuring the problem). Also, you should spare some time for contingency for any errors occurring.

Second, your presentations and pitches should begin with the conclusions and chart titles with the most important insights. Clients won’t care about the procedures; they want results . So, present the solution, back up with the evidence from your analysis, and recap the pitch.

Scoring in the McKinsey PSG/Digital Assessment

The scoring mechanism in the McKinsey Digital Assessment

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Case interview is the last round of EY hiring process with 3 phases: application, online tests and interviews. EY case interview lasts 30 - 45 minutes in total

Case interview is the last round of ZS Associates hiring process with 3 stages: online application, aptitude tests + video interview & 2 parts of case interview

Accenture case interviews are a mix of candidate-led & interviewer-led. It somewhat heavier on market-sizing questions & not heavier on math than other firms

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Maintaining Identity After Acquisition: Whats Next for Lek Pharmaceuticals Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Home >> Harvard Case Study Analysis Solutions >> Maintaining Identity After Acquisition: Whats Next for Lek Pharmaceuticals

Sometimes friendly takeover feel like friendly fire. After all, the job lost is a job lost. Such was the concern Lek Pharmaceuticals "for his recent sale of a greater interest . Founded in Slovenia, homegrown industry fear of job loss, identity, and creative freedom. Lek employed people in 20 countries, so that even the smallest change will have a big impact. But director Strategic Planning Lek was accused of just that: change. As he was to carry out the transition? And was not there pills for that? "Hide by Lynn Isabella Source: Darden School of Business 7 pages. Publication Date: July 26, 2004 . Prod. #: UV3257-PDF-ENG

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Practice case #1.

Your client is a mid-sized pharmaceutical company with an inhaled insulin product for the diabetes market. The client’s goal is to earn peak revenues of $300M/year in the U.S. and they have asked you to determine whether this sales goal is realistic by calculating the dollar value of the current insulin market and determining which factors will influence the success of the product.

What components do you need to know to determine the market size of this product?

In order to determine the market size for your client, you must know the following pieces of information:

• Prevalence of the Disease in the U.S.
• Disease Segmentation
• Diagnosis Rate
• Treatment Rate

After researching the insulin market, the following information was found. The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. is approximately 20 M patients. Type I diabetes comprises 10% of the prevalent patient population, while the other 90% is comprised of patients with Type II diabetes. Of this affected population, nearly 100% of Type I patients are diagnosed, while only 65% of Type II patients are diagnosed. Furthermore, while 100% of Type I patients are treated with insulin, only approximately one-third of Type II patients are treated due to a variety of factors. Lastly, while the price and dose of insulin varies, your research has indicated that, on average, insulin therapy costs $80/month per patient. Your client has also indicated that pricing for the product they are developing would be in line with this.

Using this information, determine the current insulin market size and the percentage capture the client must achieve in order to reach their peak sales goal of $300 M/year.

• Prevalence of the Disease in the U.S.: 20 M patients
• Type I: (20 M patients)*(.10) = 2 M patients
• Type II: (20 M patients)*(.90) = 18 M patients
• Type I: (2 M patients)*(1) = 2 M diagnosed patients
• Type II: (18 M patients)*(0.65) = 12 M diagnosed patients
• Total: 14 M diagnosed patients
• Type I: (2 M patients)*(1) = 2 M treated patients
• Type II: (12 M patients)*(1/3) = 4 M treated patients
• Total: 6 M treated patients
• ($80 month/patient)*(12 months) = ~$1,000 year/patient
• ($1,000 year/patient)*(6 M treated patients) = $6 B/year
• ($300 M/year peak revenue goal)/($6 B/year total market size) = 5% capture

In order to evaluate how realistic a 5% market penetration is for your client, what factors regarding the inhaled insulin product do you need to consider and how can each of them affect the success of the product?

There are many factors that can affect the success of your client’s product, however some of the key considerations are:

• Convenience
• Onset of Action
• Biologic Variability

Research into the first four areas revealed that the drug is indeed as efficacious as predicted in both short and long-term scenarios. Furthermore, the drug demonstrated strong tolerability and safety on a short-term scale, but long-term data was found to be lacking, particularly relative to injectable insulin which has had a long track record in the clinic. Lastly, while the price is comparable to current therapies on the market, the convenience of the product was limited due to the inhaler not being considered travel size by patients.

Considering all of the above information, do you feel that the client will be able to capture the 5% of the market they need to reach their current peak revenue sales goal? Why or why not?

Ultimately, the research indicated that 5% market share was unlikely. Given the fact that the product did not improve upon efficacy or safety, the lack of convenience and lack of long-term safety data (relative to injectable insulin) was expected to severely limit use of the product.

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Lung Cancer Drug Launch in the China Market - Case Study

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Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths globally. In China, over one million people get lung cancer each year, and for six hundred thousand the disease is terminal. In one of the largest worldwide markets Helen Chen, L.E.K.’s Managing Partner for China, has led hundreds of healthcare and life sciences projects. In this case study, Helen discusses how L.E.K. advised a leading pharmaceutical company in their pricing and successful launch of a critical lung cancer drug to the Chinese market.

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Western companies drive Chinese biotech licensing deal blitz

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Western pharmaceutical companies and investors are driving a record number of licensing deals with Chinese drugmakers that have insufficient capital to fund late-stage drug development and global expansion.

Merck, GSK and AstraZeneca have all signed licensing deals in a wave of biotech investment that hit a record $44.1bn last year, according to UBS research. The momentum has been sustained in 2024, with $9.8bn worth of biotech licensing deals signed in the first quarter.

Western pharma companies are seeking to expand their product pipelines as they confront patent expiries of lucrative drugs in the coming years, while Chinese drugmakers are struggling to raise funds domestically for drug development and clinical trials during a stock market slump. A Hong Kong-listed index of 50 “innovative” biotech stocks has fallen 57 per cent over the past three years.

“Over a decade ago, China started pouring investment into biotech. Now the results of that investment are coming out just as the Chinese companies face funding constraints,” said Helen Chen, head of LEK Consulting’s healthcare practice in Shanghai.

She added that Chinese drugmakers were facing challenges in the domestic market following a pricing regime overhaul that has forced them to drop prices of innovative drugs to qualify for the national medical insurance scheme. Beijing’s campaign to drive down prices has forced drugmakers to search for growth overseas.

The interest in Chinese pharma defies a broader exodus of foreign capital from the country at a time of rising geopolitical tension and slowing economic growth. China’s funding crunch has created an opportunity for drugmakers to expand their product pipelines.

“Many large global pharmaceutical companies are sitting on cash piles following the pandemic,” said Chen Chen, a healthcare analyst at UBS. “At the same time, they are looking to expand their portfolio as many drug patents are due to expire in the next few years.”

Most of the deals involve US or European pharmaceutical companies licensing Chinese-made drugs for a low price and then providing the capital needed for more development, clinical trials and commercialisation. Some of the deals are to license the rights to sell within China . “It’s a form of venture capital investment,” said Chen Chen.

In December 2023, Merck made an upfront payment of $70mn for the Chinese rights to license Shanghai-based biotech group Abbisko’s treatment for benign joint tumours that affect mobility. The licence is to commercialise in China with the option to go overseas.

New investors are coming to the sector. “One of the most interesting developments is the entry of private equity, seeking Chinese assets for internationalisation with the hope of exiting to large pharmaceutical companies within one to three years,” said Helen Chen of LEK.

This month, Shanghai-listed Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals said it sold the overseas licence for a portfolio of weight loss drugs to Hercules CM NewCo, a company formed by a consortium of investors including Bain Capital Life Sciences, the US buyout group’s pharma arm.

It has licensed three drug candidates for $110mn, with later payments upon hitting regulatory targets and royalties if the product is rolled out to the public. Hengrui also received a 20 per cent stake in Hercules.

Hengrui struck a less favourable deal in August to sell the global rights for its adult asthma treatment to Aiolos Bio, then known as One Bio, for an initial upfront payment of $21.5mn, with up to $1bn more if it gains approval overseas.

In October, Aiolos raised $245mn from a group of backers including Bain Capital Life Sciences and venture capital firms Atlas Venture, Forbion and Sofinnova.

Months later, GSK announced it had acquired Aiolos for an upfront payment of $1bn, with a further $400mn to be paid after clearing regulatory milestones. GSK will also pay Hengrui if the drug hits certain milestones and royalties if it commercialises.

The deal has prompted criticism within the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, where some are calling for more government support.

“Why is China selling its own innovative drugs so cheaply to foreigners?” said one Chinese biotech start-up executive who sold their drug licensing rights after struggling to raise capital from investors. “Beijing should help good enterprises to develop promising products and not just let them be sold to foreign companies.”

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Quantification supports amyloid-PET visual assessment of challenging cases: results from the AMYPAD-DPMS study

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Several studies have demonstrated the high agreement between routine clinical visual assessment and quantification, suggesting that quantification approaches could support the assessment of less experienced readers and/or in challenging cases. However, all studies to date have implemented a retrospective case collection and challenging cases were generally underrepresented.

Methods In this prospective study, we included all participants ( N =741) from the AMYPAD Diagnostic and Patient Management Study (DPMS) with available baseline amyloid-PET quantification. Quantification was done with the PET-only AmyPype pipeline, providing global Centiloid (CL) and regional z-scores. Visual assessment was performed by local readers for the entire cohort. From the total cohort, we selected a subsample of 85 cases 1) for which the amyloid status based on the local reader’s visual assessment and CL classification (cut-off=21) was discordant and/or 2) that were assessed with a low confidence (i.e. ≤3 on a 5-point scale) by the local reader. In addition, concordant negative ( N =8) and positive ( N =8) scans across tracers were selected. In this sample, ( N =101 cases: ([ 18 F]flutemetamol, N =48; [ 18 F]florbetaben, N =53) the visual assessments and corresponding confidence by 5 certified independent central readers were captured before and after disclosure of the quantification results.

Results For the AMYPAD-DPMS whole cohort, the overall assessment of local readers highly agreed with CL status (κ=0.85, 92.3% agreement). This was consistently observed within disease stages (SCD+: κ=0.82/92.3%; MCI: κ=0.80/89.8%; dementia: κ=0.87/94.6%). Across all central reader assessments in the challenging subsample, global CL and regional z-scores quantification were considered supportive of visual read in 70.3% and 49.3% of assessments, respectively. After disclosure of quantitative results, we observed an improvement in concordance between the 5 readers (κ baseline =0.65/65.3%; κ post-disclosure =0.74/73.3%) and a significant increase in reader confidence ( M baseline =4.0 vs. M post-disclosure =4.34, W =101056, p <0.001).

Conclusion In this prospective study enriched for challenging amyloid-PET cases, we demonstrate the value of quantification to support visual assessment. After disclosure, both inter-reader agreement and confidence showed a significant improvement. These results are important considering the arrival of anti-amyloid therapies, which utilized the Centiloid metric for trial inclusion and target-engagement. Moreover, quantification could support determining Aβ status with high certainty, an important factor for treatment initiation.

Competing Interest Statement

DISCLOSURES DA, IB, DVG, ILA, AP, and GBF report no relevant disclosures. LEC has received research support from GE Healthcare and Springer Healthcare (funded by Eli Lilly), both paid to institution. Dr. Collij s salary is supported by the MSCA postdoctoral fellowship research grant (#101108819) and the Alzheimer Association Research Fellowship (AARF) grant (#23AARF-1029663). GNB is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Project ID 431549029 - SFB 1451 and partially by DFG, DR 445/9 1. MB is employed by GE HealthCare. RW is employed by IXICO ltd. RG is employed by Life Molecular Imaging AWS is employed by Life Molecular Imaging ZW has received research support from GE Healthcare. PS is employed by EQT Life Sciences team. AN has received consulting fee from H Lundbeck AB, AVVA pharmaceuticals and honoraria for lecture from Hoffman La Roche. JDG has received research support from GE HealthCare, Roche Diagnostics and Hoffmann La Roche, speaker/consulting fees from Roche Diagnostics, Esteve, Philips Nederlands, Biogen and Life Molecular Imaging and serves in the Molecular Neuroimaging Advisory Board of Prothena Biosciences. AD has received research support from: Siemens Healthineers, Life Molecular Imaging, GE Healthcare, AVID Radiopharmaceuticals, Sofie, Eisai, Novartis/AAA, Ariceum Therapeutics, speaker Honorary/Advisory Boards: Siemens Healthineers, Sanofi, GE Healthcare, Biogen, Novo Nordisk, Invicro, Novartis/AAA, Bayer Vital, Lilly Stock: Siemens Healthineers, Lantheus Holding, Structured therapeutics, Lilly. Patents: Patent for 18F JK PSMA 7 (Patent No.: EP3765097A1; Date of patent: Jan. 20, 2021). SM received speaker honoraria from GE Healthcare, Eli Lilly and Life Molecular Imaging. CB is employed by GE HealthCare. VG is supported by the Swiss national science foundation (project n.320030_185028 and 320030_169876), the Aetas Foundation, the Schmidheiny Foundation, the Velux Foundation, the Fondation privee des HUG. She received support for research and speakers fees from Siemens Healthineers, GE HealthCare, Janssen, Novo Nordisk, all paid to institution. GF is employed by GE HealthCare. FB is supported by the NIHR biomedical research centre at UCLH. Steering committee or Data Safety Monitoring Board member for Biogen, Merck, Eisai and Prothena. Advisory board member for Combinostics, Scottish Brain Sciences. Consultant for Roche, Celltrion, Rewind Therapeutics, Merck, Bracco. Research agreements with ADDI, Merck, Biogen, GE Healthcare, Roche. Co-founder and shareholder of Queen Square Analytics LTD.

Funding Statement

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The project leading to this paper has also received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 115952. This Joint Undertaking receives the support from the European Union s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. This communication reflects the views of the authors and neither IMI nor the European Union and EFPIA are liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

All participants gave written informed consent. The trial was registered with EudraCT (2017-002527-21). The study was approved by the CCER (Commission Cantonale d Ethique de la Recherche) in Geneva Switzerland (#2017-01408).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Data Availability

Data is available upon request through the ADDI platform

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Wegovy users keep weight off for four years, Novo Nordisk study says

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Reporting by Maggie Fick Editing by Bill Berkrot and Louise Heavens

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Maggie is a Britain-based reporter covering the European pharmaceuticals industry with a global perspective. In 2023, Maggie's coverage of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and its race to increase production of its new weight-loss drug helped the Health & Pharma team win a Reuters Journalists of the Year award in the Beat Coverage of the Year category. Since November 2023, she has also been participating in Reuters coverage related to the Israel-Hamas war. Previously based in Nairobi and Cairo for Reuters and in Lagos for the Financial Times, Maggie got her start in journalism in 2010 as a freelancer for The Associated Press in South Sudan.

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Elon Musk's xAI raises $6 bln in Series B funding round

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI has raised $6 billion in a Series B funding round backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, among others, the company said in a blog post on Sunday.