Blog
The 2019 WHO essential medicine list: Narrowing the access gap to innovative cancer treatments
- August 21, 2019
The World Health Organization (WHO) essential medicine list (EML) contains treatments considered to be the most effective and safe in targeting global health concerns. On 9 July 2019, the WHO published the 21st edition of the EML, recommending the inclusion of 28 new medicines.1
Confidential contracting – the road to flexible pricing
- March 5, 2019
Excellent clinical and financial value are drivers for success in pharma, but without efficient, targeted pricing and adequate confidential contracting schemes, the success of any product is not ensured.1 A post on drug pricing by Joseph Jimenez, then CEO of Novartis, attracted a lot of attention in 2016.2 Jimenez stated: “We believe in the efficacy […]
Why are new medicinal products denied reimbursement in France?
- January 16, 2019
Many medicinal products looking to launch are rejected for reimbursement in France. A manufacturer must convince the Transparency Committee that their product is safe, effective and offers added value relative to alternative treatments for successful market access. In this blog, we summarise the reasons for negative reimbursement decisions in 2017 and discuss common pitfalls manufacturers […]
Virtual workshops to elevate value, pricing and market access strategies
- January 9, 2019
Market access workshops, roundtables and payer advisory boards provide vital input and cross-functional alignment on scenario planning, pricing, access and evidence strategies for pharma and medical technology companies. In this blog post we discuss how well-facilitated virtual workshops can meet the same strategic objectives of face-to-face meetings. We got into the business of offering virtual […]
The vicious circle of pharmaceutical tendering
- October 22, 2018
Pharmaceutical tendering and contracting has long been common in healthcare for medical devices and diagnostics; the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Jamaica Commodity Trading Company have been using pharmaceutical tendering since the 1970s. In the 1990s, international institutions such as the World Health Organisation and the World Bank endorsed tendering as the preferred procurement process […]
Beneluxa Initiative further strengthened as Ireland joins the collaboration
- August 22, 2018
On 22 June 2018, Ireland joined the Beneluxa Initiative on Pharmaceutical Policy. What has the initiative accomplished to date, and what will the addition of a fifth member mean for the future? Introduction to the Beneluxa Initiative The Beneluxa Initiative aims to improve patient access to innovative drugs in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Austria and now […]
Powering the healthcare system – when should infrastructure investment take priority over new drugs?
- August 15, 2018
Healthcare is under substantial economic strain: with estimates that healthcare spending in OECD countries could increase to 6% of GDP by 20501. Reimbursement decisions for high-cost drugs are often the subject of public and political debate while less media attention is given to the funding of the overall healthcare infrastructure. However, is it in patients’ […]
Scotland introduces a new pathway to improve access to ultra-orphan medicines
- July 9, 2018
Scotland is set to ease access to medicines for patients suffering from an ultra-rare condition. From the beginning of October this year, all medicines that target ultra-rare diseases (fewer than 1 case in 50,000 people) and that the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) decides are clinically effective will be reimbursed through NHS Scotland for a minimum […]
Patient-reported outcome measures: Choose with care
- March 27, 2018
Patient-reported outcome measures are increasingly important in the assessment of treatment regimes, both for regulatory approval and for market access. However, selecting the most appropriate measure and interpreting the data can be challenging.
Expert-led market access strategy
- March 19, 2018
In order to support effective decision making and deliver sustained returns in a complex, dynamic healthcare environment, pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies need an expert-led market access strategy that considers the changing nature of the real-life marketplace. These strategies should not only focus on achieving the commercial objectives for a product but also enable […]