For cell and gene therapy companies to (re)enter the European market, value-based contracting will be imperative

Bluebird Bio – a biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic disorders and cancer - has exited the European market. Evidently, this is because the company couldn’t strike deals with payers for its EMA-approved gene therapies, Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel) and Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel). Payer reluctance to reimburse cell and gene therapies should send shock waves throughout the cell and gene therapy industry. Partnering with Lyfegen may be the solution for pharma and payers alike, as its platform can put users on the right track towards successful implementation of value-based arrangements.

The high price tag of cell and gene therapies has been a topic of discussion for several years and remains an unresolved challenge. Practically all approved cell and gene therapies are priced at more than $350,000 per dose. Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) is currently the most expensive therapy ever launched, with a $2.1 million price tag.

Ideally, gene therapies address the root causes of disease with a single curative dose. If they can replace a lifetime of expensive maintenance treatments this may lead to cost savings in the long run. Yet, the high upfront costs and uncertainty surrounding long-term efficacy and adverse events have caused payer push-back.

Payer concerns are further exacerbated due to there being hundreds of cell and gene therapies in the pipeline, across a wide range of therapeutic categories, from sickle cell anemia to HIV. Should many of these therapies be approved in the coming decade the budgetary impact on payers could become overwhelming.

Payers are trying to find alternative reimbursement approaches. Examples of innovative reimbursement models include installment plans, which spread out payments, analogous to a mortgage; and value-based payments. Here, the manufacturer is paid the total cost of the therapy upfront, or in installments. Then, if the patient experiences disease progression, manufacturers must provide a partial or full refund.

One publicly known example of such an arrangement involves the gene therapy Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec). This treatment holds the promise to restore “functional vision” to certain patients with inherited blindness. After the product was approved by the FDA in 2017, the sponsor, Spark Therapeutics, set the price at $425,000 per eye. The insurer Harvard Pilgrim signed a value-based contract with Spark Therapeutics. In the deal, Harvard Pilgrim pays for Luxturna, but is refunded certain undisclosed amounts if the treatment wears off over time.

In 2019, Bluebird Bio told investors that in preparation for the possible approval of LentiGlobin - which is named Zynteglo in Europe - it was seeking what it called “installment plan contracts.” Bluebird Bio proposed that insurers would pay installments over a period of up to five years. Furthermore, after an initial charge, Bluebird Bio would only get reimbursed if the one-time infusion benefits patients.

There are, however, significant challenges in implementing these kinds of frameworks. For example, in many countries, healthcare budgets have one-to-five-year terms, which don’t suit longer payment cycles spanning a patient’s lifetime. In addition, in the U.S. there is substantial churn at insurers, as beneficiaries frequently switch plans, which lowers the potential return on investment for payers. They’re saddled with very high upfront costs without necessarily experiencing the downstream long-term benefits and cost offsets.

Looking to the future, it’s not as if drug companies appear to want to lower their price points. If its gene therapy for patients with hemophilia A is approved by the FDA this year, BioMarin is considering pricing Valrox (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) between $2 and $3 million, which would make it the most expensive treatment in the world. CEO Jean-Jacques Bienaimé asserts that insurers have indicated in preliminary discussions that they are “comfortable” with the proposed price range. Well certainly if Valrox proves durable and cures hemophilia A, the $2 to $3 million price per unit would compare favorably to the lifetime cost of treatment for hemophilia A using existing therapies, which is around $25 million.

But, in my experience talking to payers, they are still wary about high upfront costs, particularly given the uncertainties surrounding efficacy and safety, and possible durability issues. Indeed, European payer reluctance to engage with Bluebird Bio with respect to its two products indicates the need for price concessions coupled with evidence generation to establish proof of efficacy, safety, and durability.

Moving forward, a dynamic pricing structure will likely be required, using a combination of installment plans and value-based arrangements. Moreover, in the U.S. context a solution to the churn problem must be found; perhaps through enhanced portability, so that when patients change insurers there’s mutual recognition of value-based contracts across payers.

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About the Author

Cohen is a health economist with more than 25 years of experience analyzing, publishing, and presenting on drug and diagnostic pricing and reimbursement, as well as healthcare policy reform initiatives. For 21 years, Cohen was an academic at Tufts University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Amsterdam. Currently, and for the past 4 years, Cohen is an independent healthcare analyst and consultant on a variety of research, teaching, speaking, editing, and writing projects.

In a year marked by landmark legislative changes in support of value-based drug pricing, Medicare has recently received authorization to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers under the health provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Proponents of the law are hoping value-based pricing negotiations and inflation-based rate hike rebates for the country’s largest public healthcare payers will lower national drug costs and save U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions over the next decade. Of course, pharmaceutical companies disagree.

In 2022, the pharmaceutical industry spent $187 million in lobbying funds fighting–unsuccessfully–to stop passage of a law that would grant Medicare negotiating authority for drug prices. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 brought to life a legislative fix patient advocates, physician groups, and Democratic legislators have been trying to enact for decades as a tool to help lower prescription drug costs.

When the Medicare Part D retail prescription drug program was created in 2003, Republican legislators added the “noninterference clause” to the law to prevent Medicare from negotiating drug prices. Private health plans run the Medicare Part D drug program, but they set formularies and conduct drug price negotiations without Medicare’s input. The IRA establishes Medicare’s voice in drug price negotiations with drug manufacturers under the Drug Price Negotiation Program set to begin in 2023.

Medicare will be authorized to negotiate directly with manufacturers to find Maximum Fair Prices (MFPs) for a limited number of drugs that have no generic or biosimilar competition. The law also limits price increases year-over-year for Medicare Part D and Part B units sold (not for commercial units sold). Outside of a few product exceptions, drug makers who increase their prices more than the rate of inflation will have to pay rebates to Medicare.

Which drug prices can Medicare negotiate?

According to the new law, each year the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will select from a list of qualified single-source drugs with the highest total Medicare spending. The list of negotiation-eligible drugs will consist of the 50 costliest drugs from Medicare’s Part D program and (after 2028) the 50 costliest drugs from Medicare Part B (for drugs physician-administered on an outpatient basis).

A timeline for the changes enacted by the new legislation gives pharmaceutical manufacturers and health insurers time to adjust. The first step of the Drug Price Negotiation Program gives Medicare the authority to negotiate the 10 most expensive Part D drugs, with the negotiated price starting in 2026. The program expands to 15 eligible Part D drugs by 2027. Beginning in 2028, some Part B drugs may also be included in the list of 15 products that can be negotiated. From 2029 forward, Medicare can negotiate pricing for up to 20 Part D and Part B drugs. In total, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices on up to 60 eligible drugs by 2029.

The drugs for price negotiations under the IRA must meet certain standards, including the following:

• The drug may not have a generic substitute.

• For small-molecule drugs, it must be at least 7 years since FDA approval was granted.

• For biologics, it must be at least 11 years since FDA approval was granted.

• New drug formulations or treatments for rare diseases are excluded.

• Treatments extracted or developed from human blood or plasma are not eligible for price negotiations.

• A drug is excluded if Medicare’s total expenditures for the drug are no more than 1% of total Part D expenditures.

• Most drugs developed by small biotechnology companies are excluded.

Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies see the passage of the IRA as an unfavorable development and view the Medicare negotiation process as price setting, not negotiations. The HHS and manufacturers are required to negotiate and agree on MFPs for negotiation-eligible drugs; negotiations are not optional. The drug manufacturer has 30 days to accept or counter the price offer Medicare makes. If a manufacturer refuses to cooperate with HHS or fails to negotiate in good faith, HHS can impose civil monetary penalties and an excise tax for non-compliance. It’s likely the pharma industry will challenge the law in court.

What analysts predict about industry impact and cost savings

In July 2022, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published the latest estimate of the budgetary effects of the health provisions in the IRA. The CBO expects Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices will save $102 billion in public sector healthcare costs over 10 years. During the same period, the CBO estimates an additional $62 billion in savings will result from the cap on drug price hikes at the rate of inflation.

The CBO expects manufacturers will increase launch prices for their new products to counteract the IRA’s inflation-rebate provision which slows the growth of prices over time. The analysts predict this will lead to an increase in Medicaid spending because Medicaid’s rebate program, triggered by the higher launch prices, would not fully offset the price increases. The CBO says Medicare Part B may also be affected by higher launch prices since that program uses the market’s average sales price of a drug to determine its reimbursement rate.

Analysts from Moody’s Investors Service expect there will be both price reductions for some drugs and limited price growth for other drugs. Moody’s analysts warn manufacturers that show high Medicare spending–due to their high prices, not patient consumption–will feel the impact of these regulatory changes the most.

Using the data from value-based drug purchasing arrangements

Proponents of Medicare’s authorization to negotiate drug prices believe the prescription drug provisions in the IRA are a suitable compromise that allows drug manufacturers to realize a reasonable profit while increasing the health benefits, accessibility, and affordability of prescription drugs for Medicare patients. Value-based purchasing arrangements will be an important tool at the core of this compromise.

Part of the criteria the HHS Secretary will consider when negotiating an MFP is the drug’s value to health outcomes and its cost-effectiveness compared with alternative treatments. Industry experts recognize that one of the best ways to gather insights into a drug’s performance is from the data collected in the implementation of value-based drug agreements. The data can either provide real-world evidence of a drug’s cost-effectiveness and benefit to patient health outcomes or reinforce the terms of a rebate for a drug’s underperformance.

Since negotiation-eligible drugs include those approved by the FDA at least 7 years ago, performance data may already be available from past value-based drug agreements for the first round of Medicare price negotiations. Manufacturers can prepare for future negotiations with Medicare by seeking value-based purchasing arrangements for their newer products as soon as possible after FDA approval.

The Lyfegen solution

Lyfegen, an independent global software analytics company, offers a contracting platform solution that helps health insurances, pharma, medtech, and hospitals implement value-based payment models with efficiency and transparency. Lyfegen’s Platform performs real-time, end-to-end, data collection and analysis through intelligent algorithms that can operationalize any value-based pharmaceutical purchasing arrangement and provide deep insights into a drug’s performance.

By enabling the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare, Lyfegen increases access to healthcare treatments and their affordability.

To learn more about our services and the Lyfegen Platform, book a demo.

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Biosimilars are launching soon in several categories, including auto-immune disorders and ophthalmology

2023 will likely be a pivotal year for biosimilars, as Humira-referenced adalimumab products launch in the U.S. Worldwide, Humira has been a massive blockbuster for AbbVie, but also a drain on payer budgets. Once Humira-referenced biosimilars were marketed in Europe, they took off in many countries, as payers sought to reduce financial exposure with heavily discounted products. Steep discounts and tender offers, in which the best bid gets the lion’s share of the market, have helped boost uptake of biosimilars. Additionally, European payers have bought into the value proposition that biosimilars are cost-effective.

Besides auto-immune disorders, biosimilars are entering new therapeutic areas such as ophthalmology. Together with Samsung Bioepis, Biogen is launching Byooviz (ranibizumab) this month. Byooviz is a biosimilar referencing Lucentis. Approved by the FDA in September of last year, the drug will soon become the first ophthalmology biosimilar in the U.S. Byooviz’s approved indications include wet age-related macular degeneration, macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, and myopic choroidal neovascularization. Byooviz is being offered at a list price of $1,130 per single-use vial, which is a 40% discount off the wholesale acquisition cost of Roche’s originator, Lucentis. It’s expected that the price of Lucentis will also drop.

But, selling biosimilars like Byooviz to payers and clinics isn’t as simple as discounting the price. As with any new biosimilar, detailing Byooviz’s launch – demonstrating its value - will be an elaborate endeavor, which involves engaging doctors, payers, and patient advocacy groups to facilitate access and appropriate physician and patient support. Biogen, for instance, has said it will be educating ophthalmologists about the science and value of biosimilars, as well as the regulatory framework for its approval.

In the U.S., policymakers firmly believe that safe, effective, and lower-cost biosimilars must be made available to all who need them. However, biosimilars have sometimes been excluded from formularies owing to rebate schemes. In this context, higher-priced originator medications are sometimes preferred by some U.S. payers as rebates are larger for those products. Indeed, perverse financial incentives in the U.S. have been a limiting factor with respect to increasing adoption of biosimilars.

Nevertheless, with employers and patients demanding more pass-through of rebates and the role of cost-effectiveness and value-based pricing gradually becoming more important to payers, it’s expected that biosimilars will ascend in market share across all therapeutic categories where they are available.

Indeed, after a painfully slow start from 2015 to 2019, the U.S. has finally been experiencing a sustained uptick in the uptake of biosimilars in the past few years. Robust biosimilar penetration is now apparent across several therapeutic classes. In addition to the filgrastims and pegfilgrastims, there’s been erosion of the originator biologic market share in the trastuzumab, rituximab, and bevacizumab classes.

Biosimilar usage can be bolstered by value-based contracts in which financial incentives of key stakeholders – payers, drug manufacturers, and healthcare providers - are aligned. For example, payers can institute capitated contracts with healthcare providers which hold those who prescribe originator biologics and biosimilars accountable in part for the total cost of care. Partnering with Lyfegen may be the solution for manufacturers and payers alike, as its platform can put users on the right track towards successful implementation of value-based purchasing agreements. The Lyfegen platform identifies and operationalizes value-based payment models in a cost-effective manner.

Undoubtedly, payers who are less reliant on rebate arrangements and therefore more cost- and value-conscious will be able to achieve a decrease in overall costs, as lower-priced biosimilars introduce market competition within therapeutic classes. In turn, this sparks steeper discounts across all drugs, including originator products.

What may further ameliorate the adoption of biosimilars Is the granting of therapeutic interchangeability designation to certain products. To illustrate, on July 28th, 2021, the FDA approved the first interchangeable biosimilar product, Semglee (long-acting insulin glargine), which implies that it can be automatically substituted at the pharmacy counter. This has ushered in more competition, specifically in the insulin glargine class. Furthermore, one of the six biosimilars referencing Humira (adalimumab), Cyltezo, is now approved as therapeutically interchangeable and may be automatically substituted for its reference product Humira. All six approved biosimilars, including Cyltezo, are slated to enter the U.S. market at different points in 2023.

When determining the cost-effectiveness and budgetary impact of biosimilars, payers must consider dynamics, such as the distinguishing between the initiation of treatment-naïve patients on a biosimilar and therapeutic switching practices, as well as price competition with alternative therapies, and the effect of originator companies who can introduce biobetters, or improvements – often in terms of formulation and dosing – on their original product. Lyfegen can assist with evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of biosimilars and biobetters.

Armed with information about biosimilar and originator biologic clinical efficacy, patient preference, and treatment costs - which Lyfegen can provide - payers will be positioned to make appropriate coverage decisions.

About the author

Cohen is a health economist with more than 25 years of experience analyzing, publishing, and presenting on drug and diagnostic pricing and reimbursement, as well as healthcare policy reform initiatives. For 21 years, Cohen was an academic at Tufts University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Amsterdam. Currently, and for the past five years, Cohen is an independent healthcare analyst and consultant on a variety of research, teaching, speaking, editing, and writing projects.

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Pharmaceutical regulating authorities in the U.S. and Europe are under increasing pressure to approve new treatments as quickly as possible. Expedited approval programs were created to speed up patients’ access to innovative treatments that meet unmet health needs or treat life-threatening diseases. But concerns about post-approval follow-up persist. Value-based drug pricing arrangements are a solution that generates real-world data and evidence of a drug’s safety and benefit to health outcomes.

Global health authorities must consider the risks of bringing a new drug to market quickly with limited data about a product’s safety and effectiveness–these risks versus the potential benefits of a new drug that addresses an unmet medical need, alleviates a public health emergency, or saves a patient’s life. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are the ones weighing those risks and benefits and guarding the safety of pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

The usual approval process for pharmaceutical products is similar for both agencies. It includes pre-clinical testing, three clinical trials, and a final approval before manufacturers can sell their drugs to patients. Drugs that show potential and meet certain criteria may qualify for an expedited approval process.

Expedited drug approval programs

Both the European and U.S. agencies have developed expedited approval programs to speed up the process of drug development and approval when a treatment shows the potential to meet an unmet medical need or treat a life-threatening condition. A new drug may qualify for consideration under more than one expedited approval program.

FDA programs:

• Priority-review designation (PR) – started in 1992, ensures the submission application will be reviewed within 6 months instead of the usual 12 months

• Accelerated approval (AA) – started in 1992, allows drugs to be approved using a surrogate endpoint instead of the outcomes of a clinical trial

• Fast-track designation (FTD) – started in 1997, a process to expedite the development and review of drugs designed to treat unmet medical needs and serious, life-threatening conditions

• Breakthrough-therapy designation (BTD) – started in 2012, speeds the development and review of drugs with the potential for better health outcomes compared to the results of current treatments on the market

EMA programs:

• Accelerated assessment – started in 2004, a review of the application to be completed in 150 days instead of 210 days if there are no major objections from the authorizing agency

• Exceptional circumstances authorization – started in 2005, eligible for drugs that treat extremely rare diseases and where it is not possible to conduct large clinical trials

• Conditional marketing authorization (CMA) – started in 2006, accelerates approval of drugs designed to meet an unmet medical need or serious, life-threatening disease

• Priority medicines scheme (PRIME) – started in 2016, reviewers are appointed earlier than usual in the development process, mostly used for orphan medicines

Comparing FDA and EMA use of expedited approvals

A study published in 2020 in The BMJ (British Medical Journal) compares the use of expedited approval programs by the FDA and the EMA. The focus of the study included approvals of new medicines from 2007 to 2017. During that time, the FDA approved 320 new drugs, and the EMA approved 268.

The study shows that, as of April 2020, there was an overlap of 75% (239) of new drugs which were approved by both the FDA and the EMA. Most of the drugs approved by both agencies were developed to treat cancer, digestive and metabolic disorders, or blood and cardiovascular disorders.

Out of the 320 drugs the FDA approved, 57% (181) of the new drugs qualified for at least one of the FDA’s accelerated approval programs. Out of the 268 drugs approved by the EMA, only 15% (39) qualified for one of the EMA’s expedited approvals.

A different study of global drug approval programs, covering January 2007 to May 2020, focused on expedited approvals for 128 new cancer drugs. The EMA approved 73% (94) out of the 128 new drugs and qualified 46% of them through expedited approval. The FDA expedited 91% (117) of the new cancer drugs through at least one accelerated approval program. (In 2019, all the cancer drugs the FDA approved during the year qualified for expedited approval.)

Of the six jurisdictions in the study, the FDA was the first to approve 80% (102) of the new cancer drugs. In Europe, delays in submissions of regulatory applications slowed many of the approvals. The EMA’s approvals of the same 102 drugs took an additional median time of 9.7 months.

Post-approval confirmatory trials

The expedited approval process in both Europe and the U.S. relies on post-market, real-world clinical data to confirm the safety and effectiveness of a drug. After the FDA or EMA grants expedited approval and the drug is on the market, the manufacturer is required to conduct confirmatory trials to gather enough real-world evidence to transition the drug from an expedited approval to a regular approval. Both the FDA and the EMA carry a backlog of confirmatory trials that were not completed on time.

An NPR (National Public Radio) analysis of FDA and National Institutes of Health data showed there are around 200 drugs with expedited approvals currently on the U.S. market. Many drugs, especially cancer treatments, have more than one accelerated approval to cover expanded uses. Close to half of these drugs transitioned to standard approvals after confirmatory trials, and another 9% were withdrawn.

The 30 years of data NPR reviewed also revealed that 42% of confirmatory trials didn’t start within the first year after the drug was made available to patients. Some confirmatory trials were delayed by three or more years, and even up to ten years.

The EMA also appears to have a substantial percentage of manufacturers who are slow to transition expedited approvals to standard approvals. In 2016, only about half of the drugs that received expedited approvals from the EMA had converted to standard approvals. Manufacturers who switched to standard approvals took an average of 4 years to complete the conversion process.

Gathering real-world evidence through value-based drug pricing arrangements

Both healthcare payers and drug manufacturers benefit from value-based drug purchasing arrangements for drug treatments that come to market under expedited approval programs.

For manufacturers, the real-world evidence generated by a value-based agreement may be quite helpful for a few reasons. First, the data could satisfy the requirements for post-approval confirmatory trials. Second, manufacturers can show with real-world evidence that their treatment offers better benefits to patient outcomes as compared to competitors’ products. Third, manufacturers can use the data supporting the real-world effectiveness of their product to negotiate and justify their drug’s list price and preferential position on a payer’s formulary.

While payers want the expedited approval process to bring treatments for unmet needs to patients as quickly as possible, they may still have unanswered questions post-approval about a new drug’s benefits. Under a value-based arrangement, payers can collect and analyze real-world evidence to address their uncertainty and concerns about a drug’s safety, benefit to patient health outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.

Value-based pricing agreements between payers and manufacturers allow both parties to share the financial risk of a drug not performing as expected. And if a drug underperforms, real-world data from the value-based agreement can reinforce the terms of a manufacturer’s rebate. Therefore, manufacturers willing to share risk and enter value-based drug purchasing arrangements with payers have a competitive advantage.

The Lyfegen Solution

Lyfegen is an independent, global analytics company that offers a value-based contracting platform for healthcare insurances, pharma, and medtech companies wanting to participate in value-based drug pricing agreements. Lyfegen’s software platform includes three-fold functionality to implement value-based, data-driven agreements with greater efficiency and transparency: data ingestion, agreement execution, and insights generation. The Lyfegen Platform collects real-world data and uses intelligent algorithms to provide valuable information about drug performance and cost.

By enabling the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare, Lyfegen increases access to healthcare treatments and their affordability.

To learn more about our services and the Lyfegen Platform, book a demo.

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In a year marked by landmark legislative changes in support of value-based drug pricing, Medicare has recently received authorization to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers under the health provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Proponents of the law are hoping value-based pricing negotiations and inflation-based rate hike rebates for the country’s largest public healthcare payers will lower national drug costs and save U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions over the next decade. Of course, pharmaceutical companies disagree.

In 2022, the pharmaceutical industry spent $187 million in lobbying funds fighting–unsuccessfully–to stop passage of a law that would grant Medicare negotiating authority for drug prices. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 brought to life a legislative fix patient advocates, physician groups, and Democratic legislators have been trying to enact for decades as a tool to help lower prescription drug costs.

When the Medicare Part D retail prescription drug program was created in 2003, Republican legislators added the “noninterference clause” to the law to prevent Medicare from negotiating drug prices. Private health plans run the Medicare Part D drug program, but they set formularies and conduct drug price negotiations without Medicare’s input. The IRA establishes Medicare’s voice in drug price negotiations with drug manufacturers under the Drug Price Negotiation Program set to begin in 2023.

Medicare will be authorized to negotiate directly with manufacturers to find Maximum Fair Prices (MFPs) for a limited number of drugs that have no generic or biosimilar competition. The law also limits price increases year-over-year for Medicare Part D and Part B units sold (not for commercial units sold). Outside of a few product exceptions, drug makers who increase their prices more than the rate of inflation will have to pay rebates to Medicare.

Which drug prices can Medicare negotiate?

According to the new law, each year the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will select from a list of qualified single-source drugs with the highest total Medicare spending. The list of negotiation-eligible drugs will consist of the 50 costliest drugs from Medicare’s Part D program and (after 2028) the 50 costliest drugs from Medicare Part B (for drugs physician-administered on an outpatient basis).

A timeline for the changes enacted by the new legislation gives pharmaceutical manufacturers and health insurers time to adjust. The first step of the Drug Price Negotiation Program gives Medicare the authority to negotiate the 10 most expensive Part D drugs, with the negotiated price starting in 2026. The program expands to 15 eligible Part D drugs by 2027. Beginning in 2028, some Part B drugs may also be included in the list of 15 products that can be negotiated. From 2029 forward, Medicare can negotiate pricing for up to 20 Part D and Part B drugs. In total, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices on up to 60 eligible drugs by 2029.

The drugs for price negotiations under the IRA must meet certain standards, including the following:

·      The drug may not have a generic substitute.

·      For small-molecule drugs, it must be at least 7 years since FDA approval was granted.

·      For biologics, it must be at least 11 years since FDA approval was granted.

·      New drug formulations or treatments for rare diseases are excluded.

·      Treatments extracted or developed from human blood or plasma are not eligible for price negotiations.

·      A drug is excluded if Medicare’s total expenditures for the drug are no more than 1% of total Part D expenditures.

·      Most drugs developed by small biotechnology companies are excluded.

Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies see the passage of the IRA as an unfavorable development and view the Medicare negotiation process as price setting, not negotiations. The HHS and manufacturers are required to negotiate and agree on MFPs for negotiation-eligible drugs; negotiations are not optional. The drug manufacturer has 30 days to accept or counter the price offer Medicare makes. If a manufacturer refuses to cooperate with HHS or fails to negotiate in good faith, HHS can impose civil monetary penalties and an excise tax for non-compliance. It’s likely the pharma industry will challenge the law in court.

What analysts predict about industry impact and cost savings

In July 2022, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published the latest estimate of the budgetary effects of the health provisions in the IRA. The CBO expects Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices will save $102 billion in public sector healthcare costs over 10 years. During the same period, the CBO estimates an additional $62 billion in savings will result from the cap on drug price hikes at the rate of inflation.

The CBO expects manufacturers will increase launch prices for their new products to counteract the IRA’s inflation-rebate provision which slows the growth of prices over time. The analysts predict this will lead to an increase in Medicaid spending because Medicaid’s rebate program, triggered by the higher launch prices, would not fully offset the price increases. The CBO says Medicare Part B may also be affected by higher launch prices since that program uses the market’s average sales price of a drug to determine its reimbursement rate.

Analysts from Moody’s Investors Service expect there will be both price reductions for some drugs and limited price growth for other drugs. Moody’s analysts warn manufacturers that show high Medicare spending–due to their high prices, not patient consumption–will feel the impact of these regulatory changes the most.

Using the data from value-based drug purchasing arrangements

Proponents of Medicare’s authorization to negotiate drug prices believe the prescription drug provisions in the IRA are a suitable compromise that allows drug manufacturers to realize a reasonable profit while increasing the health benefits, accessibility, and affordability of prescription drugs for Medicare patients. Value-based purchasing arrangements will be an important tool at the core of this compromise.

Part of the criteria the HHS Secretary will consider when negotiating an MFP is the drug’s value to health outcomes and its cost-effectiveness compared with alternative treatments. Industry experts recognize that one of the best ways to gather insights into a drug’s performance is from the data collected in the implementation of value-based drug agreements. The data can either provide real-world evidence of a drug’s cost-effectiveness and benefit to patient health outcomes or reinforce the terms of a rebate for a drug’s underperformance.

Since negotiation-eligible drugs include those approved by the FDA at least 7 years ago, performance data may already be available from past value-based drug agreements for the first round of Medicare price negotiations. Manufacturers can prepare for future negotiations with Medicare by seeking value-based purchasing arrangements for their newer products as soon as possible after FDA approval.

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The Lyfegen solution

Lyfegen, an independent global software analytics company, offers a contracting platform solution that helps health insurances, pharma, medtech, and hospitals implement value-based payment models with efficiency and transparency. Lyfegen’s Platform performs real-time, end-to-end, data collection and analysis through intelligent algorithms that can operationalize any value-based pharmaceutical purchasing arrangement and provide deep insights into a drug’s performance.

By enabling the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare, Lyfegen increases access to healthcare treatments and their affordability.

To learn more about our services and the Lyfegen Platform.

‍

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Basel, Switzerland / Boston, USA – December 11, 2024

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Lyfegen, a global leader in drug rebate management technology, today announced the successful close of its additional CHF 5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by TX Ventures, a leading European fintech investor, with additional participation from aMoon, a global health-tech venture capital firm, and other institutional investors. This funding represents a significant milestone for Lyfegen, enabling the company to accelerate its global expansion and innovation efforts, with a focus on extending its reach beyond Europe into new markets worldwide.

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Addressing Rising Drug Costs with Intelligent Drug Pricing and Rebate Solutions

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The healthcare industry faces increasing challenges with rising drug costs and the complexity of managing growing volumes of rebate agreements. For payers and pharmaceutical companies, manual processes often lead to inefficiencies, compliance risks, and operational delays. Lyfegen is transforming this process with its fully automated platform that ensures secure, real-time tracking, compliance, and operational efficiency at scale.

Today, 50+ leading healthcare organizations across 8 geographical markets rely on Lyfegen’s solutions to streamline 4'000+ rebate agreements while tracking over $1 billion in pharmaceutical revenue and managing over $0.5 billion in rebates annually. These solutions enable healthcare organizations to improve pricing strategies, accelerate access to modern treatments, and better manage rebate complexities.

Learn more about Retrospective Payment System

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Scaling Globally with a Leading Rebate Management Platform

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Already used by healthcare payers and pharmaceutical companies in Europe, North America, and the Middle East, Lyfegen’s platform is poised for broader global deployment. By automating rebate management, the platform enables healthcare organizations to simplify complex agreements, save time, reduce errors, and enhance financial performance.

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“The market for innovative and personalized treatments is expanding rapidly, but with that comes increasingly complex and costly pricing models,” says Girisha Fernando, CEO of Lyfegen. “Lyfegen’s automated solution simplifies this complexity, helping payers and pharmaceutical companies unlock the full potential of rebates while improving patient access to modern treatments. With this funding and our new partners, we’re ideally positioned to accelerate our growth and make a meaningful impact globally.”

Jens Schleuniger, Partner at TX Ventures, adds: “Lyfegen is at the forefront of innovation, offering payers and pharmaceutical companies a powerful solution to address the rising complexities of pharma rebates. We’re proud to lead this funding round and support Lyfegen’s mission to bring greater efficiency and cost savings to healthcare systems worldwide.”

About Lyfegen

Lyfegen is an independent provider of rebate management software designed for the healthcare industry. Lyfegen solutions are used by health insurances, governments, hospital payers, and pharmaceutical companies around the globe to dramatically reduce the administrative burden of managing complex drug pricing agreements and to optimize rebates and get better value from those agreements. Lyfegen maintains the world’s largest digital repository of innovative drug pricing models and public agreements and offers access to a robust drug pricing simulator designed to dynamically simulate complex drug pricing scenarios to understand the full financial impact. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, the company was founded in 2018 and has a market presence in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Learn more at Lyfegen.com.

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About TX Ventures

TX Ventures is one of Europe’s emerging leaders in early-stage fintech investing. The venture capital fund invests predominantly in B2B Fintech across Europe - preferably in seed to series A stage. 

For more information about Lyfegen’s solutions or to schedule an interview, please contact:
marketing@lyfegen.com 

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In an industry often characterized by incremental changes, Girisha Fernando, the CEO and founder of Lyfegen, is making leaps. We sat down with Fernando to discuss the recent landmark partnership between Lyfegen and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services—a collaboration that heralds a significant shift in the Canadian healthcare landscape.

Your partnership with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services is quite a milestone. Can you share with us what this means for the current state of rebate management in Newfoundland?

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Girisha Fernando (GF): Absolutely. This partnership is a transformative step for rebate management in Newfoundland. The current system, largely manual and complex, is ripe for innovation. With our digital platform, we're bringing a level of automation and accuracy that was previously unattainable. This means more efficient processing, less room for error, and a better allocation of resources, which is critical in healthcare.

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That’s quite an advancement. And how does this impact the management of drug products, especially in areas like oncology?

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GF: It’s a game-changer, especially for critical areas like oncology. Newfoundland and Labrador, as the first in Canada to use our platform, sets a precedent. The region, through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, has been managing complex product listing agreements for drugs, including those for oncology. These agreements are vital for making treatments affordable. Our platform simplifies this, managing the various terms of these agreements efficiently, which is crucial for timely and affordable access to treatments.

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It seems like a significant step forward for healthcare management. How does this align with the broader goals of Lyfegen?

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GF: This partnership aligns perfectly with our goal to make healthcare more accessible and efficient. Automating the rebate process in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially for critical treatments in oncology, directly contributes to the sustainability and accessibility of healthcare treatments.

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Looking to the future, what does this partnership mean for Lyfegen and healthcare systems globally?

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GF: This is just the beginning. We're looking to extend our platform to healthcare systems around the world. Our aim is to make this technology a standard in healthcare management, fostering more efficient, sustainable, and equitable healthcare systems globally.

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Read more about the partnership in the official press release.

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Basel, Switzerland, October 27, 2021

Lyfegen announces that Swiss health insurance Sympany is using the Lyfegen Platform to implement & execute complex drug pricing models. Sympany applies the Lyfegen Platform to execute and efficiently manage all value and data-driven pricing models. Sympany gains efficiency and transparency in managing pricing models with the Lyfegen Platform. It offers many pricing models, including pay-for-performance, combination therapy and indication-based models.

The Lyfegen Software Platform digitalises all pricing models and automates the management and execution of these agreements between health insurances and pharmaceutical companies. This is done using real-world data and machine learning enabled algorithms. With the Lyfegen Platform, Sympany is also creating the basis for sustainably handling the increasing number of value-based healthcare agreements for drugs and personalized Cell and Gene therapies. These new pricing models allow health insurances to better manage their financial risk by only paying for drugs and therapies that benefit patients.

"The Lyfegen Platform helps Sympany execute complex pricing models efficiently, securely and transparently. We are pleased to extend our pioneering role in the health insurance industry by working with Lyfegen. This is another step for Sympany to provide our customers with the best possible access to therapies in a sustainable way," says Nico Camuto, Head of Benefits at Sympany, about the use of the Lyfegen Platform.

Girisha Fernando, CEO of Lyfegen, says: "We are very proud to support Sympany in strengthening its focus on value creation, efficiency and transparency amidst the growing complexity of pricing models. It is clear that the trend is increasingly towards complex pay-for-performance arrangements. Ultimately, our goal is to help patients receive their much-needed treatments while helping health insurances better manage risk and cost."

The Lyfegen Platform aims to help patients access innovative medicines and treatments by enabling innovative drug pricing agreements. The Platform collects and analyzes real-time pricing data, allowing health insurances and pharmaceutical companies to obtain relevant information on drug benefits and related financial planning.

About Sympany

Sympany is the refreshingly different insurance company that offers tailored protection and unbureaucratic assistance. Sympany is active in the health and accident insurance business for private individuals and companies, as well as in the property and liability insurance business, and is headquartered in Basel. The group of companies under the umbrella of Sympany Holding AG comprises the insurance companies Vivao Sympany AG, Moove Sympany AG, Kolping Krankenkasse AG, and Sympany Versicherungen AG, as well as the service company Sympany Services AG.

In 2020, profit amounted to CHF 68.8 million, of which Sympany allocated CHF 27.5 million to the surplus fund for the benefit of its policyholders. Total premium volume amounted to CHF 1,058 million. With 575 employees, the company serves around 257,100 private customers, of which around 204,500 are basic insurance policyholders under the KVG. In the corporate customer business, Sympany offers loss of earnings and accident insurance.

More about Sympany: https://www.sympany.ch

About Lyfegen

Lyfegen is an independent, global software analytics company providing a value and outcome-based agreement platform for Health Insurances, Pharma, MedTech & Hospitals around the globe. The secure Lyfegen Platform identifies and operationalizes value-based payment models cost-effectively and at scale using a variety of real-world data and machine learning. With Lyfegen’s patent-pending platform, Health Insurances & Hospitals can implement and scale value-based healthcare, improving access to treatments, patient health outcomes and affordability.

Lyfegen is based in the USA & Switzerland and has been founded by individuals with decades of experience in healthcare, pharma & technology to enable the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare.

Contact Press: press@lyfegen.com

Contact Investors: investors@lyfegen.com

READ THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

BOOK A DEMO

New York, NY - March 29, 2023 - Lyfegen, a global healthtech SaaS company driving the world’s transition from volume to value-based healthcare for high-cost drugs, announced at the World EPA Congress the launch of its latest solution: the Model & Agreement Library. The purpose of the library is to help payers and pharma negotiate better drug prices while providing an in-depth view on current international drug pricing models and value-based agreements. The database library serves as the basis for successful drug pricing negotiations, resulting in accelerated access and drug prices better aligned to their value for the patient.

The shift towards value-based healthcare, rather than volume-based, has been steadily increasing over the years. This evolution has further reinforced Lyfegen's mission to remain at the forefront of analytics and digital automated solutions for the healthcare sector. Indoing so, Lyfegen’s solutions help to accelerate access and increase affordability of healthcare treatments.

“Because of rising healthcare costs and the increase of medical innovations, the thirst for knowledge and need for value-based healthcare capabilities has surged among healthcare payers, and pharma companies across the world”, said Girisha Fernando, CEO of Lyfegen. “That is why we are so excited about launching the world’s largest database of real-world value-based agreements. It gives payers, and pharma a unique insight into how to structure value-based agreements.”

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The Lyfegen Model & Agreement Library was developed as an accelerated negotiation resource for both manufacturers and payers – allowing them to save on time, money; and for the first time – an opportunity to learn at their own pace without incurring large research projects or hiring expensive external experts. Users of the library are now enabled to make informed decisions in determining the most suitable drug pricing models and agreements for their products.

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The database holds over 2'500+ public value-based agreements and 18+ drug pricing models – spanning across 550 drugs,35 disease areas and 150 pharma companies. Its search capabilities are spread across product, country, drug manufacturer and payer – with all the knowledge, insights, current pricing and reimbursement activities shown in near real-timeacross the industry.

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“Just an academic taxonomy of models is intellectually exciting but it's not really helping your typical customer”, said Jens Grüger, Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). “The Lyfegen Platform goes several steps further. Payers and pharma have a problem and they want a solution. The Lyfegen Model & Agreement Library is practical. It offers case examples.”

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Looking for a Pharmaceutical Healthcare Solution?
Get personalized advice and take the next step in optimizing your healthcare strategy with innovative solutions designed for the pharmaceutical industry.

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The Model & Agreement Library lets the user see the specifics of agreements reached between manufacturers and payers, including which disease areas and drug/device innovations were targeted. This market-leading database allows for one-to-one comparisons of agreements while heightening increased leverage during the negotiations process.

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“I like having a palette of contracts that fall under different domains, like disease state, the way the drug is administered, or available evidence. There are different ways to make a contract attractive to us, to pharma, and to our physicians”, said Chester Good, Senior Medical Director Center for Value Based Pharmacy Initiatives at UPMC Health Plan.

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This resource represents a breakthrough in the healthcare industry that facilitates the sharing of knowledge – a strong point of discussion that is becoming increasingly more important. Lyfegen is currently providing a limited time opportunity for industry professionals who are interested to try out the Model & Agreement Library with a complimentary 7-day trial.

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Learn more and start your free trial now

Basel, Switzerland, August 3rd, 2021

Lyfegen announces that its value-based healthcare contracting platform has been implemented together with Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies Switzerland (Johnson & Johnson) and a leading Swiss Hospital.  

Through this new value-based healthcare approach, Lyfegen and its partners drive the shift towards what matters most to patients: improved patient health outcomes and more efficient use of financial and human resources, enabling a sustainable post-COVID-19 healthcare environment.  

The shift towards a value-based healthcare in Switzerland and globally can only be achieved through the support of innovative technologies. Lyfegen’s platform is a key enabler for this transition. The platform digitalises and automates the execution of value-based healthcare agreements, paving the way for the resource-efficient scaling of such novel agreements.   

“COVID-19 has shown us the urgent need for a more sustainable healthcare system. With the implementation of value-based healthcare agreements on the Lyfegen platform, we are extremely proud to help Johnson & Johnson and hospitals to accelerate the transition to value-based healthcare and improve patient health outcomes at reduced cost.” says Lyfegen’s CEO, Girisha Fernando.

Lyfegen's compliant, secure and patent-protected value-based healthcare contracting platform automates the collection and analysis of patient-level data. Users receive transparency on actionable health outcomes and agreement performance. Lyfegen’s contribution to this partnership is a blueprint for the scaling of value-based healthcare models across hospitals, health insurances, medical device & pharma companies globally. The partnership marks another important milestone for Lyfegen, as the company continues to grow and has recently opened its next investment round.  

READ THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

BOOK A DEMO

We are thrilled to announce that our tech team continues to grow: A warm welcome to Giancarlo, Lyfegen’s new Full-Stack Developer! With his background as a security engineer, he knows how to make our platform even safer!

“I am excited to welcome Giancarlo to our Tech Team as a Full-Stack developer. Giancarlo’s experience in the areas of Machine Learning, Security and Software Development are critical to our long term success and development of the Lyfegen Platform.” Says CTO, Frederico Braga

To introduce our newest team member, we virtually interviewed Giancarlo.

Welcome to the team Giancarlo! Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Giancarlo and I live in Chur, Switzerland. I hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science. I previously worked as a security engineer, designing and implementing big data applications at a Swiss telecom company. At Lyfegen I will be working on improving our platform as a full stack developer.

What drives you to be a full stack developer?

For me, the variety of tasks is the biggest appeal of being a full stack developer: One day you could be working on low level database tasks and the next day on implementing user-interface (UI) elements. This keeps the job challenging and interesting!

What motivated you to join Lyfegen?

Until now, I was working for a rather big company where my impact was small. I wanted to change that. At Lyfegen I am able to create something meaningful from the ground up.

What is your first impression as of now?

My first impression was very positive: The people at Lyfegen are kind, helpful and smart. A perfect mix in my opinion! I’m looking forward to all the interesting tasks, complex problems and engaging conversations with my colleagues.

How will your know-how help the Lyfegen customers experience our platform the best way possible?

As a former security engineer, I know the most common threats and pitfalls when it comes to creating a software. I hope to use my expierence and knowledge to make our platform safer and more resilient to potential threats in the future.

What is something you want to learn or improve this year?

In previous jobs I was mainly developing backend applications. This year I want to improve on the frontend side and learn new technologies when it comes to graph databases. I always wanted to improve my Italian, so maybe 2021 is the year where I take some time to do just that!

What passions do you pursue outside of work?

I play lacrosse in our local club twice a week. Food is another passion of mine: I also love to cook and try new restaurants. On rainy Sundays, you’ll find me playing boardgames or Dungeons and Dragons with my friends.

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM

He loves innovation and thrives on solving problems using code. Besides developing and studying he plays basketball, travels and reads. We are proud to welcome the newest talent to the Lyfegen team: “Junior Developer” Thungu!

“The motivation and the skills of Thungu are undisputed. Among other things, that is what makes him and Lyfegen a perfect match. Constant evolution and progression are some of the most important objectives at Lyfegen, that is why Thungu will join our Team to help us add new UI components to our products and automate our testing processes in coordination with the UI/UX designers and Business Analysts, resulting in a higher overall quality and user satisfaction of our products. We are looking forward to work with Thungu here at Lyfegen.” Says CTO, Frederico Braga

To introduce our newest talented team member, we virtually sat down with Thungu for an interview.

Welcome to the team Thungu! Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi, my name is Thungu, and I am from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I am a Software Engineering undergraduate at the University of Westminster in my second year while working here at Lyfegen. I also volunteer for the IEEE student branch of my university to organize hackathons, webinars and other tech related events.

What drives you to be a developer?

I love figuring things out, exploring new technologies and solving problems with code. When facing challenges as a developer I always explore the “yes” and try to figure things out before accepting a “no”. That figuring out part is what drives me to be a better developer and what I enjoy mostly about being a developer.

What was your motivation to join Lyfegen?

I wanted my first work experience to be in an innovative company which has a positive impact on the world and when I got to know what Lyfegen does, I knew this was it. With value-based healthcare in its early stages, I see it’s huge potential and the unprecedented value it brings towards humanity. I knew I had to be a part of this great journey!

What are your first impressions so far?

It has been a very pleasant experience. I am enjoying the startup culture - everyone is very close, friendly and welcoming. The flexibility at Lyfegen is one of the things that I appreciate most, as it is really important for me to have an evenly work and university life balance. I am also very impressed by how dynamic and motivated the team is. Everyone is ready to move mountains for patients!

How will you improve the customer experience on the Lyfegen platform?

I will be focusing mainly on Frontend Development and Testing which includes building new components with the help of our Kateryna, our UI/UX designer and testing the functionalities of our products together with Pavlo.

What do you want to learn and improve this year?

I am looking forward to improving my skills and helping Lyfegen in other stages of Software Development in addition to Frontend Development and Testing. I also want to improve my understanding of the healthcare industry.

What are you especially looking forward to as you take on this new role?

Although I enjoy all the virtual coffees, I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone in person someday. I’m also looking forward to grow as a professional and becoming a better and experienced developer. I feel very grateful to work with such an amazing team of experienced developers and other team members.

What passions do you pursue outside of work?

I love to play basketball, create travel videos and also photography is my passion. I read books focusing on life and spirituality, I learn new technologies, and sometimes I play the guitar.

We are proud to welcome Thungu to the Lyfegen team!

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM

We are pleased to welcome the latest addition to our tech team! Andrei joins Lyfegen as a full-stack developer. He brings his wealth of backend and frontend experience to elevate our platform.

"I am excited to welcome Andrei to our Tech Team as a talented and motivated Full-Stack developer. Andrei brings great skills and knowledge to our team and will support us in further building our applications." Says CTO, Frederico Braga.

To introduce our newest addition, we interviewed Andrei.

Welcome to the Team, Andrei! Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi! My name is Andrei. I am from Romania, and I graduated from the Technical University of Cluj Napoca. In the last seven years, I have worked as a software developer at different companies and with different technologies like .net, iOS, Angular, Typescript, MSSQL, Mongo DB, SoapUI.

What drives you to be a full-stack developer?

I chose to be a full developer because I like to be involved in every phase of a software application, from the UI side to the server. In the last eight years, the modern technologies used for building stack server-side applications and client-side applications became much easier to use, which allows us to learn multiple technologies on both sides.

What motivated you to join Lyfegen?

At the beginning of my career, I worked for another startup company. I remember my satisfaction when someone used our product, and I want to feel that again. Lyfegen is giving me many opportunities to positively impact the world because we are driving things in the right direction. I consider value-based contracts the best solution for patients, healthcare payers and Pharma companies.

What is your first impression as of now?

I like and appreciate the whole team. All my colleagues have brilliant ideas that are bringing the Lyfegen platform to its best form. The Lyfegen platform is one of the strongest I have seen so far in my career, and this is because everyone has a voice within the team.

How will your know-how help the Lyfegen customers experience our platform the best way possible?

Throughout my career, I have worked on several big projects in different fields providing technical solutions for different problems on the frontend side and the backend side. These experiences have taught me the importance of accessibility features, and I would like to bring that knowledge to improve the user experience of Lyfegen users. I can help the Lyfegen customers better interact with the platform in terms of performance.

What is something you want to learn or improve this year?

I am looking forward to improving my understanding of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. From a technical perspective, I'm excited to work and learn Grandstack technologies.

What passions do you pursue outside of work?

I love to play board games, tennis and football. During the summer weekends, I like to go hiking, and in winter, I enjoy skiing. I also have an interest in politics, and I try to stay updated with trends in the IT industry because of my passion for new technologies.

What else are you looking forward to?

I look forward to deepening my relationship with my teammates. I strongly believe that working in an atmosphere that promotes teamwork makes our lives much more enjoyable. At the same time, it has a positive impact on the project.

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM

The Lyfegen Team is proud to announce that as of this month, Simon has taken on the new role of “Customer Success Hero” at Lyfegen!

Simon joined Lyfegen 6 months ago as a working student and very quickly, full of motivation and enthusiasm, took on important responsibilities. Supporting Nico in the management of Lyfegen’s customer relations, which include some of the largest pharma companies worldwide, Simon will be accompanying the customers during the entire journey starting with supporting the customer’s in identifying suitable models up to the continuous support of Lyfegen's solutions. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of Lyfegen's customers' needs, he will also be working together with the technical development team to further enhance Lyfegen's solutions.

We are proud to have him as part of the team and sat down with him to give you a little more insight behind the bike-riding, FIFA-loving, “Customer Success Hero”!

Hi Simon, so tell us: why are you leaving large corporates like Roche and UBS to join the start-up Lyfegen?

After working at these two large corporates for several years I felt like I needed to see something completely different outside the corporate world. I was getting too much into a routine and wanted to take on a new challenge. I always had this entrepreneurial spirit in me and when I got the chance to start at Lyfegen, I didn’t have to think twice. Lyfegen offers me the perfect environment and has a great purpose.

You are working already since January 2020 at Lyfegen; what fascinates you the most?

I am really fascinated by the huge enthusiasm and passion of the whole team! Everyone here is very dedicated to leading Lyfegen to success and to driving value-based healthcare forward. I am also fascinated with how many new things I learn every single day and I am very delighted about how much responsibility I could already take over in this short time.

How do you experience the collaboration with the team?

The team has a great spirit and I felt very welcome and involved from the first second. The communication within the team is very transparent and open-minded. Issues can be addressed openly and critique is always given in a constructive way.

Healthcare is changing to value- and data driven models. How do you experience this change with our customers?

Our customers are all very interested in value- and data driven healthcare, but these models are often a new experience for them. With our technical solutions and our know-how, we support our clients to make the transition to value-based healthcare happen. We are now at a stage where we are pioneers and proactively shape the future environment for such models together with our clients.

What are your personal next goals with Lyfegen?

My personal goal is to further grow with the company. Growing not only personally by gaining more experience and continuously taking over more and more responsibility, but also to help Lyfegen achieve its next milestones. I am looking forward to be part of this journey.

We currently have two open positions - What are your recommendation for other talents that are applying at Lyfegen?

If you are applying at Lyfegen I recommend you to be aware of what it means to work in a start-up. You need to be ready to step outside your comfort-zone, be willing to actively drive things forward and take ownership. If this is what you are looking for, then Lyfegen is the perfect fit for you. Lyfegen offers you the perfect environment to further develop yourself and to work on exciting projects that have a real impact and a great purpose, helping patients to access innovative therapies.

Enough about work! What passions do you have outside of Lyfegen?

I love bike racing and being in nature! I can often be found on weekends biking my way up hills and testing my limits! It’s a great way to disconnect and focus on nature. But I’m not always in nature – I must admit, I do love playing video games too, especially FIFA (and am the proud winner of our last Lyfegen FIFA tournament – yes, the team got together for a 8 hour challenge one weekend!). Work hard, play hard!

We are proud to have the Lyfegen team continue to grow with such fantastic team-members!

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM

He loves innovative tech and spending his free time reading Hi-tech books! Yes, we are proud to announce Lyfegen’s latest addition to the Kiev team: “Full-Stack Developer”, Dima Guzyk!

“Dima is extremely talented and with his passion to develop new and exciting technology that helps patients, Lyfegen’s products will reach new levels. We are very proud to have him in the team! ” says Lyfegen’s CEO, Girisha Fernando.

We sat down with him to give you a little more insight behind the book-loving “Full-Stack Developer”:

Hi Dima! Tell us a little about yourself: where are you from and what is your work experience background?

Hello! I’ve lived in Kiev almost all my life. This is such a beautiful city. For any lifestyle or interest, the city offers amazing opportunities to live out your dreams!

Regarding my work experience: After I graduated from university, I started working at Intellect Service, the biggest electronic document flow solutions developer in Ukraine. Gradually, my professional and communication skills developed and I became Team Lead of the company’s product. It was a great experience and led me to stay with them for 5 years!

My latest experience was at KPMG as a Software Engineer, where I participated in the development of various corporate information systems. Only after a short year, I had the fantastic opportunity to grow and take over the role of Senior Software Engineer.

This is your first experience in the Health Tech industry – what triggered this move?

This is my first experience in the Health Tech industry and I’m so happy! Working at Lyfegen gives even a tech development job a greater purpose: my work will indirectly support greater access for patients to innovative therapies – helping to save lives!

You are joining Lyfegen as a Full-Stack Developer. In simple terms: what will you be working on?

I participate in all the stages of software development, following the business requirements. In addition, I also analyze the domain in detail, propose architectural solutions to the problems we discover, write code, write unit tests, and help with creation of a reliable, scalable and secure application environment! In simple terms, I will bring the technical solutions of Lyfegen to life!

What are your next personal goals with Lyfegen?

My goal is to constantly discover new approaches and technologies, being able to make comparisons between them and implement the best to the work I do.

What motivated you to join?

When I discovered what Lyfegen was doing, giving patients worldwide access to innovative therapies, I knew I had to be a part of the team! Innovative therapies are necessary for humankind – it’s just that no one has been able to make these more accessible to a wider range of patients. This greater purpose and the impact that this technology has, was the key driver!

Enough about work! What passions do you have outside of Lyfegen?

I am an incredibly curious person! I have a wide range of passions that interest me but most of all I enjoy reading historical and Hi-tech books and magazines.

We are proud to have the Lyfegen team continue to grow with such fantastic team-members!

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM