Supporting a New MS Innovation to Market

Client Challenge

Our client was preparing to launch a new, innovative disease-modifying drug (DMD) for multiple sclerosis (MS) and was in the process of submitting a NICE technology assessment. This was set within a clinical environment which had changed dramatically over recent years, resulting in the stretching of an already under-resourced MS specialist service, coupled with a perverse incentivisation structure which rewarded hospital activity. Our client’s market access challenge was therefore multi-faceted:

• To define the payer stakeholders and influencers at all levels of the NHS in England
• To inform national price discussions to agree commissioning and a commercial arrangement for the new product
• To understand the pressures on commissioners and hospital providers of MS services, and the dynamics between local and national commissioners
• To map the funding flows across the patient pathway to identify the value that the new product delivers to the patient and the NHS
• To understand how the value messages could sit alongside the clinical messages for this novel new treatment
• To equip the market access team with the tools to a engage and add value to the payer audience

Our Solution

With clearly defined roles and responsibilities, Visions4Health worked in partnership with our client to develop a tailored market access strategic approach, and deliver a comprehensive programme of activity:

• D-CODE desk research of national and local NHS policies and stakeholders to devise a robust payer engagement strategy
• Leveraging our Networks4Health community, conducted in-depth interviews with a range of payer customers involved in decision-making, including specialised commissioning leaders, clinical directors, trust service and general managers, high-cost drugs pharmacists, chief pharmacists, homecare service providers
• Two advisory boards – one national and one local – to help shape the strategic market access plan for entry of the new product, generate the value messages, define the tools required to support prescribing for the new product and understand the experiences of different patient access schemes to shape the commercial agreement
• Supported our client to deliver national one-to-one engagement of the medicines optimisation clinical reference group and NHSE commercial team
• Development of the value proposition, formulary pack and related payer engagement/implementation communication assets

Outcomes

• In less than two years, in a highly competitive market and challenging clinical environment, the product was delivering an approximate 15% market share which was above forecast
• Internally, the Global Team recognised this value campaign as a ‘best in class example of a payer launch’, and used it as a benchmark for other markets launching this innovative DMD