Pharma Pipelines Have Reopened but Bring New Obligations

I was pleased to see the article “Drug Makers Refill Parched Pipelines” on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this past Monday.

It was encouraging to read the positive news about pharma companies “showing signs of coming back to life” with their shift in focus from “me too” drugs for illnesses that already have many treatment options to “innovative medicines that “work differently or better than existing drugs or tackle ailments lacking good treatments.” The article highlighted 20 new high impact medicines that have already won marketing approval so far this year, nearly the same number as all of last year.

It seems the FDA is more willing to work in cooperation with the pharma industry when real medication breakthroughs are under consideration. Also, there’s more willingness on the part of payors to reimburse for the medications (which are typically very expensive), and to give preferential treatment in formulary positioning.

Pharma’s obligation to both the FDA and payors will be to demonstrate real-world clinical and financial benefits to all stakeholders. Pharma’s willingness and ability to comply with these requirements will most definitely influence future regulatory considerations and payor reimbursement decisions.

And this is where patient experience and support services can play a vital role. We’ve successfully partnered with pharma and will continue to play a key role in helping them comply by designing customized programs for their new and existing brands. Our programs deliver timely, actionable data on patient experiences, medication compliance, patient satisfaction, and more, which help pharma live up to their obligation of providing real-world outcomes.

As a matter of fact, we’ve already been selected to design a patient experience and support services program for one of the innovative brands mentioned in the article. We look forward to the challenge and will continue to tout our unique and valuable services to an industry that, according to the FDA’s Janet Woodcock, has reached a “turning point” in drug development.

As always, appreciate your comments.

Gene