News and Insights
Pharma’s in a Bind – Here’s a Way Out

Pharma’s in a bind, attacked over the high price of new life-saving specialty drugs, staggered by the $2.6 billion Tufts says it costs to bring a new drug to market, and confronted by steeper reimbursement and market access hurdles.
More fodder for critics came with the news that spending on prescription drugs is accelerating despite an historic slow-down in overall health spending. That just reinforces the scrutiny providers are giving to new and even current products.
Formulary decisions increasingly are made by cross-functional committees, not just physicians, and they want to know what they’re getting for their money. “Prove that your drug is really valuable to patients,” a hospital formulary committee chair and cardiologist recently advised, cautioning that “we just don’t approve everything.”
The basis for the traditional commercialization-business development process is rapidly eroding, leaving most manufacturers at a dead end. But there’s a way out of the bind — a new commercial model, one that responds to new access criteria, influencers and process with compelling value propositions, sophisticated customer segmentation and revamped roles, accountabilities and skills.
How close are you to having a new commercial model? Here are three questions you need to ask:
- How well are today’s payer and provider expectations incorporated throughout development?
- Are you fully accounting for differences among evolving health care delivery business models?
- Are you prepared to assume risk with your customers?
Numerof & Associates can assist you in developing compelling value propositions using our proprietary ecvAssessment™ methodology. In addition, we can support you with creating service offerings, identifying customer partnership opportunities, preparing for at-risk contracting and redesigning commercial models.
Our extensive work with providers, payers and manufacturers has made us a leader in creating value-based strategies for growth, and facilitating complex change.
Learn more about our perspectives and solutions for pharmaceuticals or read case studies of our work with leading organizations.