Craig Caceci, Managing Director of Terebellum, said: “In 2023, developments in the market will emphasise the need for targeted programmes and end-to-end solutions that improve treatment access, affordability and outcomes.”
Trends predicted for 2023 by the healthcare and business consulting services provider include the following.
Greater focus on specialty and rare disease therapies
Private sector investment and interest will drive research and influence policy maker support for specialty drug development, including cell and gene therapies (CGTs).
The global specialty pharmaceuticals market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 10.04% by 2027, while the CGT market will exceed $93.78 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 22.41%.
Many new ultra-expensive therapies are becoming available, putting extraordinary pressures on life sciences manufacturers and payers to improve patient access to treatment and ensure affordability.
Improved commercial planning for new pharmaceutical rollouts
Meticulous planning and disciplined execution will help pharmaceutical manufacturers to improve product launches and meet their business goals — from precommercialisation through to launch — including market access insights and unique financial programmes to enhance medication access and optimise outcomes.
Greater reliance on global expertise
The ongoing transition to serve rare disease patients worldwide with access to specialty drugs and CGTs will intensify the need for international experience and expertise to bring these products to market globally.
A shift toward value-based and outcome-based contracts
Value and outcome-based contracts promote greater patient access to new biopharmaceutical treatments by linking reimbursement, coverage or payment to a treatment’s real-world performance and patient outcomes.
Innovative financial solutions for cell and gene therapy
Continued increases in CGT costs will put pressure on payers, both public and private, throughout the health ecosystem. This will drive innovative approaches to absorb these costs, which can exceed multimillion-pound price tags for payers and individual patients.
Unique financial solutions, such as loan-based programmes, significantly offset the cost of expensive and potentially curative CGTs.
Ongoing improvements in patient engagement
Patient-centric care is driving an expanded role for patient care co-ordinators, transcending all activities related to improving access to treatments and streamlining communications between prescriber, patient and specialty pharmacy that impact therapy management.
These include interventions and side-effects management, financial concerns and other issues. Expect expanded market presence of specialty pharmacy solutions organisations and their technology — such as mobile apps and call centres — to better connect with patients in managing their conditions.
These capabilities will improve patient engagement, drive more efficient administration, decrease time to fill and optimise outcomes.
Carved-out prescription medical, pharmacy and contracting benefits
Self-funded employers, plan sponsors and other payers are increasingly contracting directly with a specialty pharmacy provider to design their benefit packages.
This enables payers to gain better control of costs, have greater transparency into their benefit claims and strengthen their negotiating power.
Commenting on how to respond to the predicted trends, Craig adds: “Being a dedicated specialty pharmacy, Terebellum is uniquely positioned to help life sciences manufacturers navigate the complexities of the sector and enable the flexibility to adapt quickly to market changes.”