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Adding a Medicare Part E benefit to pay for cell and gene therapies

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Adding a Medicare Part E benefit to pay for cell and gene therapies

Despite their curative potential, the extraordinarily high price tags of cell and gene therapies have raised concerns about the U.S. and European healthcare systems' financial sustainability. This is especially true for recently approved treatments indicated for relatively sizable sub-populations, including multiple myeloma, beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease and different types of hemophilia.

To address these challenges, researchers have suggested creating a universal benefit in the U.S., named “Part E,” specifically designed for coverage of cell and gene therapies. Part E would technically fall under Medicare, but it would not have age- or disease-specific eligibility restrictions. In other words, it would be open to all who for whom the therapies are indicated and who may not be eligible for the Medicaid-specific model the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are implementing (for information on this model, see previous microblog).

Upon the Food and Drug Administration approval of an eligible cell or gene therapy, Part E coverage and pricing would be determined centrally by CMS, whose mandate it would be to consider whether such products are deemed “reasonable and necessary” to treat the affected population, as CMS already  does when it conducts National Coverage Determinations. Part E would be financed by an earmarked tax.

Any decision to cover a product would include outcomes-based agreements, in which the net price would depend on a product's performance over time. Alternatively, CMS could negotiate subscription-like payment models as some Medicaid programs have done in the hepatitis C space. Here, CMS would be responsible for a fixed payment regardless of the number of patients treated or the volume of a drug or therapy dispensed. In other words, unlike traditional payment arrangements, payment would not scale with volume.

In negotiating pricing and reimbursement for cell and gene therapies, CMS would establish a national risk pool across the Medicare, commercial and (part of the) Medicaid markets. In turn, this would decrease the level of financial risk borne in the system.

The Lyfegen Library offers you access to one central resource with more than 4,500 public price-based agreements and 20 innovative pricing models (including subscription-like payment arrangements) which can form the basis for outcomes-based agreements to be signed under an eventual Medicare Part E. This invaluable resource has all the market research in one place to gather intelligence on novel ways to establish innovative payment systems that are uniquely designed to suit business needs of key stakeholders such as drug manufacturers and health insurers.

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A novel Medicaid model to pay for latest gene therapies

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A novel Medicaid model to pay for latest gene therapies

Newly approved gene therapies for hemophilia A and B, beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease come with multimillion dollar price tags that could bankrupt financially strapped state Medicaid programs. In many instances, the majority of patients affected by these diseases rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage.

Last month, the federal government unveiled a novel “access model” - the Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model- designed to mitigate the costs state Medicaid programs incur when they pay for these potentially curative treatments and allow for patient access. The announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services marks a significant step towards addressing the access issue.

Similar to what is currently happening with a select group of prescription drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act, CMS plans to negotiate prices of these gene therapies with drug makers at the national level for all state Medicaid that decide to participate in the model. By facilitating access to potentially life-changing treatments and supporting outcomes-based agreements with manufacturers, the model has the potential to improve health outcomes and alleviate financial burdens on state Medicaid agencies.

At first, CMS intends to negotiate pricing and rebates with the drug manufacturers Vertex and bluebird bio over the next few months on behalf of state Medicaid agencies that voluntarily choose to join the program.

Bluebird bio says it has already established an outcomes-based agreement for its SCD therapy, Lyfgenia, with commercial insurers. The product is listed at $3.1 million. The company did not divulge further details. Vertex, which priced its SCD therapy, Casgevy, at $2.2 million, has declined to discuss its plans.

The fact sheet that CMS provides contains few details as to what kinds of pricing arrangements would be put in place for products such as Lyfgenia and Casgevy. Prior to deciding to participate in the model and allow CMS to negotiate prices on their behalf, Medicaid agency directors will want to know specifically what kinds of outcomes-based agreements CMS can turn to.

The Lyfegen Model & Agreements Library offers CMS and state Medicaid agencies access to one central resource with more than 4,000 public pricing agreements and 20 innovative pricing models, including outcomes-based agreements. This invaluable resource has all the market research in one place for stakeholders to gather intelligence on novel ways to establish innovative payment models that are uniquely designed to suit the needs of Medicaid payers, CMS, and drug makers alike. To further enhance the practicality of these models, our value-based contracting platform mitigates the high costs and administrative challenges involved in managing these contracts. It equips CMS, the States, and Pharma with a streamlined, cost-effective means to implement outcome-based agreements efficiently.

Medicaid directors will also seek information on methods of evidence gathering, outcomes measurement, the length of time needed to test durability of gene therapies and how this information will be provided to CMS, presumably via a patient registry. Lyfegen offers solutions to identify the right drug pricing agreements in which evidence generation and the use of patient registries are key.

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Value-based insurance design is ready for primetime

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Value-based insurance design is ready for primetime

Ostensibly, patients who have “skin in the game” through cost-sharing motivates them to be good stewards of their pharmacy benefit. But in the present system in the U.S., cost-sharing is usually not outcomes-based. It’s simply a way for insurers to defray costs onto patients, even when it poses barriers to access.

On the other hand, value-based insurance design is an increasingly popular method used by payers in which prescription drugs considered of high value have correspondingly low or no patient cost-sharing and few if any other utilization restrictions. By contrast, treatments deemed of low value are assigned higher patient cost-sharing and more conditions of reimbursement.

Optimally, this leads to greater patient adherence to high-value drugs and better health outcomes.

This method is used in the commercial sector, though until now relatively sparingly. One of the more interesting recent initiatives is the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model. Remarkably, the pilot is attracting many participants. Sixty-nine Medicare Advantage plans with nearly 9 million Medicare beneficiaries are signed up, an increase of almost 50% from 2023.

Aligning patient and payer financial incentives around the value of healthcare technologies and services implies the need to gather evidence and measure health outcomes. Broader implementation of value-based insurance design will entail the expanded use of incentive-based drug formulary models in which the most cost-effective pharmaceuticals have the lowest cost-sharing and the fewest reimbursement restrictions.

The Lyfegen Library offers you access to one central resource with more than 3,500 public pricing agreements and 20 innovative pricing models, including value-based insurance arrangements. This invaluable resource has all the market research in one place to gather intelligence on novel ways to establish innovative payment models that are uniquely designed to suit your business needs.

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Re-dosable gene therapy Vyjuvek’s initially successful launch offers lessons

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Re-dosable gene therapy Vyjuvek’s initially successful launch offers lessons

The promise of gene therapy is to cure diseases associated with faulty or missing genes. Yet the high upfront costs, uncertainty surrounding long-term durability, and adverse events in some patients have often impeded market uptake.

So when the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald said it expects a “very strong product launch” of a recently approved gene therapy made by Krystal Biotech, the topical gel Vyjuvek indicated for a rare skin disease called dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, it caught people’s attention.

Successful commercialization of gene therapies has remained largely elusive, in part due to access hurdles erected by insurers. The current payer system is not particularly well suited to accommodate single-dose therapies for which long-term treatment efficacy, risk-benefit ratios and safety remain uncertain.

But Vyjuvek (beremagen geperparvec) is different. Unlike most current gene therapies on the market today, it’s not meant to be a one-off cure. Vyjuvek is the first and only Food and Drug Administration-approved topical gene therapy that can be re-dosed.

Listed at $630,500 annually per patient—$485,000 after mandatory government discounts in Medicaid—it is certainly expensive. But it is not nearly as high-priced as other gene therapies that have been approved in recent years.

The manufacturer has successfully pursued coverage agreements with payers in the commercial and public spaces. Further, Krystal is using an innovative payment model with its payer clients. The company is offering them a price cap of $900,000 annually per patient to account for patients who may require large numbers of vials of treatment.

The Lyfegen Library offers you access to one central resource with 3000+ public pricing agreements and 20 innovative pricing models—this invaluable resource has all the market research in one place to gather intelligence on innovative ways to establish innovative payment models, such as the one in place for Vyjuvek, that are uniquely designed to suit your business needs.

Learn more: https://www.lyfegen.com/products/model-and-agreement-library

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Sickle cell disease gene therapies are here, but how is society going to pay for them?

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Sickle cell disease gene therapies are here, but how is society going to pay for them?

On November 16th, the UK’s MHRA approved Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) or exa-cel for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. And this month the FDA is expected to license exa-cel and lovo-cel (lovotibeglogene autotemcel), both of which attack SCD at its genetic root.

For these advanced gene therapies the challenge of access through Medicaid and other programs looms large. Medicaid will be the predominant payer for the 25,000 patients who could be eligible for these gene therapies. And it must figure out a budget-conscious way to pay for these potential one-time “cures.”

In April, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issued a draft report on the cost-effectiveness of exa-cel and lovo-cel. ICER noted that the proportion of patients achieving treatment success was 97% for both therapies. Even at the placeholder price of nearly $2 million per dose, ICER says both treatments could be cost-effective. But ICER cautioned that a prerequisite is their durability over time and the establishment of value-based pricing agreements between payers and manufacturers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is therefore pursuing a two-pronged approach to value-based pricing and reimbursement of cell and gene therapies such as exa-cel and lovo-cel.

First, a proposed rule would require manufacturers with the highest drug Medicaid spending per claim to turn over confidential information justifying their prices. CMS would post this information online, seek public comment, and compel manufacturers to “address” their pricing in a public forum.

Second, CMS is planning on “testing of payment models” based on outcomes-based agreements on behalf of all 50 state Medicaid programs, rather than having them done separately by individual states.

Innovative payment models such as these require the ability to analyze patient outcomes and negotiate prices based on those outcomes. Digital platforms, such as those offered by Lyfegen, are designed to implement value-based contracting models. This investment can yield operational efficiency, recovery of missed revenues, and provide critical access for patients to life-saving drug therapies.

Lyfegen offers solutions to identify the right drug pricing agreements, simulate and understand the financial impacts of those agreements, and automate the execution and adjudication of them—thus delivering a measurable reduction in administrative effort in rebate management and optimization.

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Lyfegen Secures additional CHF 5 Million in Series A Funding to Scale Its Drug Rebate Management Platform Globally

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Lyfegen Secures additional CHF 5 Million in Series A Funding to Scale Its Drug Rebate Management Platform Globally

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

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.

Addressing Rising Drug Costs with Intelligent Drug Pricing and Rebate Solutions

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

Scaling Globally with a Leading Rebate Management Platform

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.

“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.

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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A New Era in Canadian Healthcare: Lyfegen's CEO Discusses Groundbreaking Collaboration

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A New Era in Canadian Healthcare: Lyfegen's CEO Discusses Groundbreaking Collaboration

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Read more about the partnership in the official press release.

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Lyfegen Launches the World's Largest Database of Value-Based Drug Agreements

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Lyfegen Launches the World's Largest Database of Value-Based Drug Agreements

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.”

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.

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.

“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.”

Learn more about Pharmaceutical Healthcare Solution

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.

“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.

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.

Learn more and start your free trial now

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Swiss health insurance Sympany implements Lyfegen Platform to efficiently execute complex value & data-driven agreements for high-priced medication.

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Swiss health insurance Sympany implements Lyfegen Platform to efficiently execute complex value & data-driven agreements for high-priced medication.

 

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

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Breaking News: Lyfegen platform supports Johnson & Johnson to further drive value-based healthcare strategy

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Breaking News: Lyfegen platform supports Johnson & Johnson to further drive value-based healthcare strategy

 

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

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Hello to our new team member: Meet efficacy expert Anca Marin!

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Hello to our new team member: Meet efficacy expert Anca Marin!

Lyfegen is building the leading contracting software solution to support value-based drug pricing arrangements. This mission requires a hands-on team to optimize all our processes. With Anca Marin joining our team as the new business analyst, we are set up for success.

 

We sat down with Anca to learn about her experience, her goals, and her aspirations.

Hello Anca, and welcome to Lyfegen! Please tell us a little about yourself: Where are you from, and what’s your educational and professional background?

Hello, my name is Anca. I am based in Bucharest, Romania. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and later earned a master’s degree in business management. Before joining Lyfegen, I worked in finance for three and a half years in various industries, such banking, insurance, and ICT.

What excites you about being a business analyst?

The novelty – I believe it is a role where you never get bored as there is always a new situation, idea, or feature to build up, and it is exactly the challenge I want.

Why did you decide to join Lyfegen?

I find meaning and desire in making a change for the better. I also enjoy the work culture and the idea of being part of an innovative company while making a real impact.

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

This is my first role as a business analyst. Therefore, this year, I want to focus on growing my knowledge and skills as a business analyst, as well as in software development and the healthcare industry.

How will your know-how help to improve our customers’ experience of the Lyfegen platform?

Given my previous roles, I would say that I was usually the one handling challenging and complex situations when dealing with customers. Through these experiences, I learned to find ways to deliver the best results for customers, and I will continue to do so. I also describe myself as being super detail-oriented – and details always make the difference.

Let’s get personal: What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

Besides my full-time job at Lyfegen, I am also a handball goalkeeper. I have been playing since I was 11 years old, and I usually go to two to three training sessions a week. However, I like sports in general, so if I am not on the handball court, I am probably playing other sports, like basketball or tennis.

I also like traveling and nature and activities away from the big cities, such as hiking, backpacking, and camping.

 

Is there anything else you are looking forward to outside of work this year?

Outside of work, my plans for this year are to get a motorcycle, take trips to the mountains, and make great memories!

 

We are proud to have you with us, Anca!

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At Lyfegen, the security of patient data is of utmost importance! We are proud to announce that we are ISO 27001 certified, an internationally recognised information security standard!

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At Lyfegen, the security of patient data is of utmost importance! We are proud to announce that we are ISO 27001 certified, an internationally recognised information security standard!

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is one of the most widely recognized and internationally accepted information security standards. ISO 27001 defines how an organization should manage and treat information more securely, including applicable security controls.

It requires a company to have an information security management system, which means having a documented process for managing sensitive company information, processes, and IT systems.



What this mean for Lyfegen?

To achieve the certification,  security compliance was validated by an independent audit firm after a rigorous process of demonstrating an ongoing and systematic approach to managing and protecting company and customer data.

Being a company that manages sensitive health-data points, it is of utmost importance to us to ensure the best tech processes and security mechanisms are in place.

At Lyfegen, we are committed to complying to the highest tech security standard, continuously improving our solutions & processes, as we move forward with the operationalisation of value-& data driven contracts for a fast & sustainable access to innovative therapies. In turn, this will benefit patients worldwide!

We are audited on yearly basis by an accredited third-party auditor to keep our ISO status valid.

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Lyfegen is at the World Pharma Pricing, Evidence & Market Access Congress!

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Lyfegen is at the World Pharma Pricing, Evidence & Market Access Congress!

Join in from anywhere in the world for three days of incredibly interesting presentations and round-tables by industry experts all around the topic of pricing and market access in healthcare.

Only a week left to go! The incredibly exciting annual World Pricing, Evidence & Market Access Congress is taking place from the 23rd to the 25th of September virtually... giving attendees the opportunity to join from anywhere in the world! This is set to be the largest and most comprehensive yet, with over 1000 attendees and more than 230 speakers!

Lyfegen's Girisha Fernando and Nico Mros will be moderating a round-table “How do you include the patient perspective in an outcomes-based contract?” on the 23rd of September at 15:05 CET. Join us! Lyfegen has a digital booth so feel free to get in touch via the swapcard app, if you are already signed up.

See the full program

 

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João Marques-Gomes, PhD, joins Lyfegen Advisory Board

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João Marques-Gomes, PhD, joins Lyfegen Advisory Board

Lyfegen is proud to announce that João Marques-Gomes has joined the company’s Advisory Board. João is a university professor, a scientific researcher, and a management consultant in health management.

He is the Chair of Nova University Lisbon’s institute for Value-Based Health Care (VBHC), and the professor of the semester course “VBHC” at the Nova School of Business & Economics and at the Nova Medical School.

His research has been repeatedly funded by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, the Portuguese public agency for scientific research. As a management consultant, João Marques-Gomes has worked for public and private hospitals in Europe and Latin America, the European Commission, the Portuguese Ministry of Health, the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society, and for pharmaceutical companies that are among the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies in sales.

In the past, João worked with ICHOM – International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, as part of the implementation team. He is currently the Vice-President of IBRAVS – Brazilian Institute for Value in Health. João’s actions have had an important impact on the Portuguese society.

João has co-led the Cascais Agreement movement, which gathers the 80+ major stakeholders that have publicly signed the agreement that establishes that by 2021 1/3+ of the Portuguese health care providers must have had an experience with VBHC.

 

Lyfegen makes it possible for innovation to always have an open door in any market in the world. Thanks to Lyfegen, millions of people will have access to innovative treatments and will enjoy much healthier lives because of this.

João Marques-Gomes



João Marques-Gomes has a PhD in economics from the University of Evora (Portugal), and an MBA from the FIA Business School (Brazil). Part of his PhD studies was done at the University College London (UK), and at the Toulouse School of Economics (France). João did his training in VBHC at ICHOM (UK), at the Harvard Business School, and at the Dell Medical School, UT Austin (USA).

With his vast experience in health economics and value-based healthcare, João will support Lyfegen to achieve its mission of accelerating value-based healthcare to improve the life of patients.

 

 

 

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Former New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson joins Lyfegen advisory board

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Former New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson joins Lyfegen advisory board

 

Lyfegen is proud to announce that former New York State Medicaid Director, Jason Helgerson, has joined the Lyfegen Advisory Board.

 

Lyfegen, the provider of the leading value-based agreements platform for pharmacy, is proud to announce that Jason Helgerson has joined its advisory board. He brings his rich experience in value-based healthcare and more than 20 years of public service to this role. Jason’s forte is in creating effective value-based payment systems, facilitating successful cross-sector collaboration, and delivering transformative stakeholder engagement - all elements that underpin a successful value-based health and social care strategy.

“Seeing how Lyfegen uses advanced technology to solve the immense problem of drug pricing & affordability by enabling value-based agreements made my decision to join Lyfegen’s advisory board an easy one. I am excited about the value Lyfegen can deliver to healthcare payers, providers, and patients in the US and across the world,” says Jason.

In addition to serving as Lyfegen advisor, Jason is the managing director of Helgerson Solutions. He is a nationally recognized leader in value-based healthcare, healthcare & delivery system reform.

Most recently, he was New York State’s Medicaid Director, a role he held for over seven years, managing an annual budget in excess of $68 billion. During his time leading the Medicaid program in New York, Jason drove New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program (DSRIP). Over five years, the DSRIP program in New York created local, multi-sectoral partnerships with the aim of fundamentally restructuring the delivery of healthcare in New York & transitioning 80% of Medicaid payments into value-based arrangements. Jason became an internationally-recognized leader in public sector health care as part of his leadership of New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team, which helped reshape the program to lower costs – tackling a budget deficit – and improve health care quality.

Jason Helgerson earned a BA from American University in 1993, and his Master’s in Public Policy from University of Chicago in 1995. He also attended the London School of Economics’ Summer Graduate School Program in International Economics in 1994. He has worked in a variety of local and state governments, including the City of Milwakee, City of San Jose, CA, State of Wisconsin, and New York. He has served as the Medicaid Director for both the State of Wisconsin and the State of New York.

With vast experience in value-based healthcare, Jason will advance Lyfegen’s mission of accelerating value-based healthcare to improve patients’ lives in the USA.

 

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.

More about Lyfegen: https://www.lyfegen.com

 

Related Links:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lyfegenhealth

Contact Press:  press@lyfegen.com

 

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Exclusive interview with Girisha Fernando at the launch of Lyfegen’s Value-Based Agreement Library

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Exclusive interview with Girisha Fernando at the launch of Lyfegen’s Value-Based Agreement Library

At this years World Evidence, Pricing and Access event, Girisha Fernando, the CEO of Lyfegen, expressed excitement as he spoke about the company’s latest launched offering - the Lyfegen Model & Agreement Library. This unique learning resource is a true game-changer that builds upon the company’s existing product. It expands our horizons by allowing payers and market access & pricing professionals to explore over 2’500 real-life public agreements, and 18 drug pricing models from around the world. The library provides an unparalleled understanding of drug reimbursement models that help users make better informed choices like never before.


Selecting a drug reimbursement model is very complex, as manufacturers want quick market access, while payers may have many concerns, such as a drug’s efficacy and affordability. Fernando emphasized that the library bridges the gap by assisting payers and market access professionals in finding specific models that address each stakeholder’s concerns, and key real-life agreement examples, resulting in better-informed decision-making, and ultimately more efficient reimbursement processes.


“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 Fernando, “That is why we are 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.”


But that’s not all – Fernando explained that the database is constantly evolving, being updated weekly with new public agreements, allowing stakeholders to be up to date on public agreements.


Overall, it is clear that the Lyfegen Model & Agreement Library is an invaluable groundbreaking tool, that is becoming indispensable in increasing the knowledge on drug and Cell & Gene Therapy reimbursement.

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Lyfegen Launches the World's Largest Database of Value-Based Drug Agreements

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Lyfegen Launches the World's Largest Database of Value-Based Drug Agreements

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.”

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.

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.

“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.”

Learn more about Pharmaceutical Healthcare Solution

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.

“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.

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.

Learn more and start your free trial now

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Swiss health insurance Sympany implements Lyfegen Platform to efficiently execute complex value & data-driven agreements for high-priced medication.

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Swiss health insurance Sympany implements Lyfegen Platform to efficiently execute complex value & data-driven agreements for high-priced medication.

 

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

 

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The Tech Team Keeps Growing! Welcome to the Lyfegen Team, Analytical-Superstar, Pavlo!

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The Tech Team Keeps Growing! Welcome to the Lyfegen Team, Analytical-Superstar, Pavlo!

He’s analytical, a techie and has a fantastic gift for music! Yes, we are talking about the latest addition to our team, our very own “Technical Business Analyst” and Ukrainian superstar: Pavlo Lupandin!



Just last month we announced the arrival of our Lead Developer, Daniel, and now more great news follows as Lyfegen continues to lay focus on the technical team: we have our very own Technical Business Analyst, Pavlo!

“Pavlo’s sharpness and problem-solving skills just made it clear that we needed him in our team! His drive and commitment will bring great value to our patients, our customers and Lyfegen as we continue to sharpen our platform” says Lyfegen’s CEO, Girisha Fernando.

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 musical talent and witty “Technical Business Analyst”:

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

Hello! I was born in the east of Ukraine, got the Master’s Degree in Economics in Kyiv, worked at one of the Big 4 companies for 3 years as an Auditor, following one year in the role of Business Analyst. After this experience, I found myself being a fresh ACCA Member, who wanted to dive into something not that accounting related. Business analysis has proven to be an interesting area where I can develop further capitalizing on my previous experience.

It’s interesting, that back in my audit days I’ve had some big healthcare-related projects. Who knew that it was only the beginning of working in this promising domain…

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

Pace of development. The Healthcare & IT industries are developing in overwhelming waves, and to ride the peak of those waves is a challenge – formidable, but a tempting one. As soon as this opportunity presented itself, I decided to chase it. We’ll see, where this decision will bring me in a couple of years.

You are joining Lyfegen as Technical Business Analyst. In simple terms: what will you be working on?

I would be occupied mainly with gathering, documenting and communicating the requirements of our customers. Ever heard of different communication barriers? Those I would try to eliminate, trying to grasp the very core of what has to be done for the maximum customer satisfaction and making sure the development team implements requirements as close as possible to the ideal.

What are your next personal goals with Lyfegen?

There are several of them. First, I strive for development as a professional, and I think Lyfegen will provide me with opportunities to do that. Second, I want to embrace that spirit of a high-growth startup – after working for a massive and complex company, the flexibility and freedom of Lyfegen is a breath of fresh air. And finally, I want to know new talented people. I already know, that the Lyfegen team has a great diversity, and I can’t wait to learn some interesting things from people of other countries and cultures.

What motivated you to join?

Purpose and value. As simple as that. I can see the purpose and value of what I’m doing. Obviously, we are at the beginning of this journey, and it’s a bit early to speak about “value-based pricing for everybody” or “pay only for what is really working” but…the concept is huge, and it will become the question of life and death for some patients. And I’ll do my best to make it as close to life as possible.

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

Oh, you don’t want to hear a full list, I assure you. Let me try to sum it up quickly…Music, videogames and tabletop games – I play them all. A small collection of musical instruments – some of them are quite exotic, especially for my home country (banjo and djembe, for example). A bigger collection of tabletop games in different genres – the Lyfegen team can definitely expect a session or two in the nearest future. And a vast collection of videogames on different platforms…without much details let’s just agree there are a lot.

There are some other hobbies of mine, but I’d prefer to keep a couple of surprises up my sleeve!



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

 

MEET THE LYFEGEN TEAM

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Cell and gene therapy approvals will target much larger populations by end of decade

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Cell and gene therapy approvals will target much larger populations by end of decade

Forty cell and gene therapies may be launched in the coming five years. They could target as many as 33 million patients by the end of this decade. When a single dose of a gene therapy can cost millions of dollars, finding feasible and equitable ways to price and reimburse these products is a major challenge.

Cell and gene therapies began mostly in the ultra-orphan space, but with technological advancements in drug development, therapies are expanding into much larger populations. This evolution began last year with the approval of the CAR-T therapy Carvykti, which may be prescribed to more than 80,000 multiple myeloma patients annually by 2025.

In the gene therapy space, recent approvals of hemophilia A and B products, as well as the imminent launch of sickle cell disease therapies, expand new therapies reach to potentially hundreds of thousands. Then, as we look forward to a few years from now, gene therapies may enter the massive diabetes and osteoarthritis markets, which pushes their impact exponentially to millions of patients annually.

Most cell and gene therapy products are intended as one-time injection treatments, which in turn may offer durable cures. But the up-front costs are very high on a per-unit basis. And questions around the durability of novel gene therapies persist. As such, there are serious concerns about how to manage the considerable costs while ensuring equitable access.

Independent watchdog organization, ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review), is helping to push the movement toward fair pricing and fair access forward—and it’s been shown that cell and gene therapies can be cost-effective. However, for this value proposition to become a universally accepted practice, payers must adopt a view that systematically incorporates the concept of value-based pricing. Traditional methods of reimbursement won’t work. As a consequence, payers will need to implement value-based pricing arrangements, such as pay-for-performance schemes or warranty programs, in which evidence is gathered and analyzed to assess whether cell and gene therapies prove their worth and are durable over time. Policymakers will need to turn to value-based contracting solutions, such as the ones Lyfegen offers.

Both pharma companies and payers are faced with the complex challenge of navigating the uncertainties of drug pricing agreements for cell and gene therapies. Lyfegen is an independent resource that provides powerful tools and resources for pharma and payers to leverage so that the right type of reimbursement model can be identified for a specific cell and gene therapy. The Lyfegen Model & Agreement Library contains more than 2,000 real-world, value-based agreements and 18 drug pricing models from around the world. And the Lyfegen Platform leverages intelligent algorithms to capture and analyze patient-level drug cost data that can then be run through a platform-based simulator to help customers negotiate the best agreements possible.

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