Leveraging Data Analytics to Boost Pharmaceutical Market Access

6-Company News

Specialty drugs comprise a growing share of the pharmaceutical market. According to an industry report by Drug Channels, total prescription revenues surpassed $500 billion in 2021, with specialty drugs accounting for almost 40 percent of outpatient prescription revenues and an even larger share of payers’ net prescription costs. Over the next five years, these therapies are projected to account for at least half of all revenue generated by the pharmacy industry.

To remain competitive in this space, manufacturers need to work with their channel and commercialization partners to access real-time data and meaningful insights to drive market- and patient access.

The promise of data-driven insights 

Pharmaceutical companies have historically relied on data across the product life cycle to fuel decisions related to go-to-market approaches, resource allocation, marketing mix, pricing strategies, and customer segmentation. However, conventional data sources, such as claims, often lack critical details necessary to draw meaningful insights.    

Today, manufacturers should be expecting richer, more granular data sets. In a complex and rapidly evolving specialty marketplace, they need timely, relevant data that can be acted upon now. 

The quality of insights that can be gleaned from data today create value and bring tremendous opportunity for commercial strategies. In fact, a McKinsey analysis determined that leveraging advanced analytics can improve the EBITDA of pharmaceutical companies by anywhere from 45 to 75 percent.    

With the evolution of data analytics, life science companies can better understand stakeholder influences, preferences, and behaviors. The true potential of these data-driven insights lies in the ability to leverage them to improve care delivery, accelerate patient access and demonstrate real-world drug efficacy – and ultimately, patient outcomes.    

Metrics hold valuable insights for market access

When implemented well, data capture and management offer visibility into the patient journey and insight into market activities around product movement and usage. Examples of data and metrics that hold valuable market- and patient-access insights for pharma manufacturers include:

  • Diagnosis and off-label use

  • The time between diagnostic test results and therapy selection

  • Prescriber affiliations with IDNs 

  • Insurance coverage and reimbursement

  • Prior authorization requirements

  • Patient assistance program usage

  • Patient out-of-pocket obligations 

  • Time to fill

  • Fill and refill rates

  • Referral and adjudication status

  • Denials and appeals

  • New medication starts

  • Medication stops and reasons why 

  • Medication switching

  • Medication adherence

  • Adverse events

The key to unlocking the value of captured data is to ensure it is translated into meaningful insights and actions that align with commercialization strategies while still complying with applicable regulations. 

Aligning data analytics with commercialization strategy

Data has the power to help pharmaceutical companies identify gaps and opportunities with their current market- and patient-access efforts. To truly tap into this power, manufacturers must prioritize access to integrated data and insights that align with their market access strategies. 

Quality, real-time insights that accurately characterize the entire patient journey – from the provider visit to prescription processing to the patient receiving their medication from the pharmacy – will help manufacturers achieve their commercial objectives. 

Manufacturers can positively impact market access and minimize patient access barriers by employing advanced analytics to support:  

  • Personalized patient engagement

  • Tailored provider and partner digital communications 

  • Faster time to therapy

  • Medication adherence

  • Network and distribution optimization

  • Understanding of real-world clinical outcomes

  • Contract negotiations

  • Field force efforts

A value-oriented data-driven approach can generate substantial returns, including a 5-10 percent net revenue improvement and 10-20 percent spend reduction/reallocation.   

Tapping into the full potential of pharma data analytics

Pharmaceutical and life sciences companies have access to a vast amount of data but often lack the tools to tap into its full potential. Automated and secure data systems with next-generation analytics are vital to capitalizing on opportunities in the marketplace. 

Finding a commercialization partner to capture impactful data and then help leverage and scale the analytics to inform efficient and effective decision-making will drive your brand's success.

As an end-to-end commercialization partner, Phil provides an integrated approach to data analytics across the patient journey giving manufacturers real-time visibility and control over their distribution channels. Get in touch today to discover how you can drive market access with deeper data insights.

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