Rare Disease Therapies and the Case for Outcomes-Based Agreements
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Treatments for rare diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy or CAR-T therapies like tisagenlecleucel, hold transformative potential for patients. Yet, they often come with significant challenges—uncertainties around long-term efficacy, high costs, and the need for tailored patient selection. Outcomes-Based Agreements (OBAs) offer a structured way to address these challenges, aligning financial risk with therapeutic outcomes. However, their implementation requires careful consideration and planning.
The Promise and Practicalities of OBAs
1. What Makes OBAs Valuable?
OBAs shift the focus from upfront costs to real-world outcomes, creating a more sustainable framework for funding innovative therapies. They enable:
• Risk Sharing: Payers and manufacturers align costs with actual therapeutic results.
• Patient-Centric Focus: Treatments are tied to measurable improvements, emphasizing value rather than volume.
• Increased Access: By mitigating cost risks, OBAs can support the introduction of high-cost therapies in resource-constrained settings.
2. Implementation Challenges
Despite their promise, OBAs are not without hurdles:
• Administrative Complexity: Managing OBA agreements involves data sharing, contract monitoring, and performance assessments—all requiring robust systems.
• Data Availability and Quality: Real-world evidence is critical, but gaps in data collection, reporting, and standardization can limit success.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Successful OBAs require alignment between payers, manufacturers, and healthcare providers. Misaligned priorities or unclear accountability can derail agreements.
How Lyfegen Supports OBA Implementation
Learning from Global Examples
Lyfegen’s Agreements Library—featuring 6,700 public agreements and 20 pricing models from 33 countries—offers invaluable insights into how OBAs have been implemented worldwide. By analyzing these examples, stakeholders can identify models that best suit their unique challenges, reducing the trial-and-error phase of implementation.
Streamlined Scenario Analysis
The Lyfegen Drug Contracting Simulator enables stakeholders to simulate OBA scenarios using real-world data. From adherence-based contracts to outcome guarantees, the Simulator helps users:
• Assess feasibility through scenario modeling.
• Forecast financial implications with real-world inputs.
• Compare multiple pricing models to find the most suitable solution.
Simplifying Administration
Managing the administrative burden of OBAs is crucial. Lyfegen’s tools offer:
• Centralized contract management for version control and compliance tracking.
• Automated data processing to ensure performance metrics are accurately reported.
• Detailed dashboards and trend reports to facilitate collaborative decision-making.
Key Considerations for OBA Success
1. Feasibility Studies Are Essential
Not every therapy or market is suited for OBAs. Conducting thorough feasibility assessments helps determine the viability of such agreements.
2. Data Plans Need Clarity
Reliable outcomes-based contracts depend on well-defined metrics and data collection processes. Establishing these frameworks early is crucial.
3. Commitment from All Stakeholders
OBAs thrive on collaboration. Shared goals, transparent communication, and clear accountability among all parties can ensure smoother execution.
Conclusion
Outcomes-Based Agreements represent an important step forward in addressing the challenges of high-cost, high-impact therapies for rare diseases. With the right tools, insights, and preparation, healthcare stakeholders can unlock the potential of OBAs to improve access, manage costs, and focus on patient outcomes.
Discover how Lyfegen can simplify your journey to outcomes-based contracting. Schedule a demo today to explore our solutions in action.
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As value-based contracting (VBCs) becomes the standard, the role of clinical trials has shifted significantly. They are now essential not only for demonstrating safety and efficacy but also for enhancing financial performance. By creating trials that meet the criteria of VBCs, pharmaceutical companies can increase their financial gains, minimize pricing risks, and facilitate smoother negotiations with payers.
According to a report by Deloitte, aligning clinical trials with value-based pricing strategies can lead to improvements in revenue predictability and cost management by as much as 20% for drugs with high market access potential. This improvement stems from linking trial outcomes to real-world efficacy, which reassures payers and reduces the financial risk for manufacturers by basing pricing on demonstrated effectiveness
For CFOs and Pricing Directors, the Financial Impact is Clear
For CFOs and Directors of Pricing, the financial implications of optimized trials in a VBC framework are significant. When trial designs focus on outcomes that matter most to payers—like reductions in hospitalization or improved quality of life—pricing becomes more flexible, and revenue can be projected more accurately. McKinsey & Company points out that outcome-based models also provide a safeguard against pricing volatility, allowing pharmaceutical companies to stabilize revenue by tying payments to real-world performance metrics.
Efficiency Gains through Outcome-Focused Trial Design
Beyond revenue predictability, operational efficiencies are another key benefit. A focus on outcome-based trials reduces the time and resources needed to negotiate with payers, as the trial data itself becomes a compelling point in payer discussions. For Market Access Directors, outcome-driven trial designs support quicker market entry and stronger, data-backed negotiations that build payer confidence.
Lyfegen’s Platform: Streamlining Trial Optimization for Value-Based Contracts
Optimizing clinical trials for VBC is complex, but Lyfegen’s all in one platform simplifies this process. By enabling real-time pricing simulations based on clinical outcomes or financial goals, Lyfegen helps pharmaceutical companies design financially viable reimbursement contracts and align them with value-based pricing. This empowers pricing teams to model financial outcomes, enhancing both operational efficiency and contract efficiency.
Interested in learning how outcome-focused trials can support your pricing and financial goals? Lyfegen’s Simulator offers the tools you need to optimize clinical trials for success in a VBCs framework.
Schedule a demo today to explore how we can streamline your pricing and contract strategies: https://www.lyfegen.com/demo
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In value-based contracts (VBCs), clinical trial outcomes are no longer just about proving safety and efficacy—they’re now critical to driving drug pricing and market access strategies. As payers and healthcare systems shift towards outcome-based models, trial data is becoming the foundation for negotiating both price and reimbursement.
Payers are increasingly prioritizing data from real-world evidence and clinical trials for value-based arrangements. The real-world data aligns closely with payers' needs to predict the cost-effectiveness of drugs and determine coverage. For Market Access Directors and Directors of Pricing, this means that clinical trial results can either accelerate or hinder the process of getting drugs to market. Strong trial outcomes not only justify premium pricing but also provide a solid basis for faster, smoother payer negotiations.
This is especially crucial in markets where budgetary pressures and stringent healthcare regulations make it difficult for new therapies to gain market access. The ability to present data-driven evidence of a drug’s real-world impact can significantly shorten time to market and improve access.
Novartis’ Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, used a value-based contract with installment payments and performance guarantees, adjusting reimbursement if outcomes fell short—demonstrating flexibility for high-cost therapies in outcome-based pricing models
For CFOs, using clinical trial data means greater financial predictability. By tying pricing to outcomes, companies can secure more stable revenue streams, with lower financial risk from market variability.
Are you ready to leverage clinical trial data to improve your pricing strategy and market access? Lyfegen’s Simulator helps you model pricing scenarios based on trial outcomes, ensuring a smoother path to market and better payer alignment.
Schedule a demo today to see how we can support your pricing and market access strategies: https://www.lyfegen.com/demo
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The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly moving towards value-based contracts (VBCs), where drug pricing is tied to real-world patient outcomes rather than traditional volume-based models. This shift is transforming how clinical trials are designed and executed, and it’s profoundly impacting drug pricing strategies.
According to the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, value-based contracts are expected to account for a larger share of pharmaceutical revenue, with the global market projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2026, driven by the need for more outcome-driven healthcare solutions.
For CFOs and Directors of Pricing, this shift provides new opportunities to de-risk pricing models. By linking drug prices to clinical outcomes, pharmaceutical companies can reduce financial risk while ensuring that prices reflect the actual value delivered to patients. In this context, clinical trials become critical—not just for regulatory approval, but for pricing strategy development. The data generated in trials helps justify flexible, dynamic pricing models that payers can support.
Moreover, value-based contracts align perfectly with reducing healthcare costs while improving outcomes. This model can also strengthen relationships with payers, who increasingly demand proof of value before agreeing to reimburse drugs at premium prices.
Interested in transforming clinical trial results into smarter, value-based pricing? Lyfegen’s Simulator offers the solution by streamlining pricing models and linking them directly to trial outcomes, helping you reduce risk and enhance financial predictability.
Schedule a personalized demo today to see how we can help you transform your pricing strategy: https://www.lyfegen.com/demo
Related Post: Value-based pricing vs best price? Medicaid's best price problem
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Introduction
Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th President of the United States. With healthcare remaining a critical issue, it’s valuable to revisit some of Trump’s past healthcare reforms and examine a particularly controversial policy that could significantly impact drug pricing in the U.S. From efforts to lower out-of-pocket costs to transparency initiatives aimed at increasing competition, Trump’s past healthcare policies reveal a complex approach to improving accessibility and affordability. Here, we also explore how these initiatives have evolved under the Biden-Harris administration and what their potential implications could mean for the future of American healthcare.
Let’s examine some of his past reforms to improve healthcare and discuss a controversial policy that could greatly alter drug pricing.
Conclusion
The evolving landscape of American healthcare policy, influenced by both Trump and Biden’s administrations, reflects an ongoing effort to address cost, transparency, and access to treatment. Trump’s initiatives laid the groundwork for healthcare cost transparency and patient protections, while the Biden-Harris administration has expanded these initiatives and introduced groundbreaking policies like Medicare drug price negotiation. As these changes continue to unfold, the healthcare industry, patients, and policymakers alike will need to adapt to new dynamics, shaping the future of healthcare in the United States.
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Lyfegen HealthTech AG announced today that it has raised CHF 2 million of additional capital, bringing its total funding to CHF 3 million. Read the full press release.
BASEL, Switzerland, Sept. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
- Investors back Lyfegen's mission to make innovative healthcare therapies more accessible and affordable
- Funding secures market-leading position prior to Series A opening in 2021
Lyfegen HealthTech AG, a Swiss health technology company, announced today that it has raised CHF 2 million of additional capital, bringing its total funding to CHF 3 million. The additional funding was completed by private investors and the innovation program of one of Switzerland's largest banks.
Lyfegen has developed a ground-breaking software solution to accelerate value-based healthcare contracting, pioneering in a global market that could reach USD 400 billion by 2024, according to the latest estimates by research firm MarketsandMarkets™. Some of the world's 10-largest pharmaceutical and medical technologies companies are already employing Lyfegen's platform in strategic markets in Europe and South America.
Girisha Fernando, Chief Executive Office and co-founder, said: "Increasingly, healthcare systems around the world are transitioning from fee-for-service payment schemes to value-based contracting. Our solutions support the shift towards sustainable payment models that help ensure patients get the treatments they need at prices they can afford, while healthcare companies make an adequate return on their investment. We are proud to have strong partners and investors on board to support us in this challenging and rewarding mission."
The new funding, combined with the seed capital raised in April 2019 and the founders' contributions, secures the development of Lyfegen's proprietary technology as it continues to roll out its value-based contracting solution in the U.S. as well as additional European and Latin American markets in the areas of oncology, rare diseases and medical devices.
Michel Mohler, Chief Financial Officer and co-founder, added: "We continue delivering on our ambitious goals prior to opening our Series A funding in 2021. This latest additional funding confirms the growing interest of international investors in innovative healthcare technology built for a data-driven world. The funds will be used to further strengthen our leading market position as we prepare for a strong Series A funding round."
About Lyfegen
Lyfegen HealthTech AG is a Swiss healthcare technology company that is pioneering digital value-based healthcare contracting. Lyfegen's patent-pending, ground-breaking software analyses complex healthcare data sets in order to help patients access innovative therapies that focus on the healthcare outcomes that matter most to them. Lyfegen's solutions collect the patient's specific medical profile whilst ensuring the strictest data privacy protocols. Lyfegen's founders Girisha Fernando, Michel Mohler, Nico Mros, and Leon Rebolledo have combined their expertise in life sciences and financial services to create a holistic solution that enables life sciences companies, healthcare payers and healthcare providers to develop and roll out digital value-based healthcare, a market that is set to grow to USD 400 billion by 2024.
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EGK uses the Lyfegen Platform to handle complex pricing models of on and off-label usage of more than 80 drugs
Basel, Switzerland - November 29, 2022 - Lyfegen, a global healthtech SaaS company driving the world’s transition from volume to value-based healthcare for high-cost drugs, announced today that EGK-Gesundheitskasse is joining its portfolio of insurer partners to execute all of their value-based pricing contracts for high-cost drugs efficiently, securely, and transparently.
Switzerland, with the fourth-highest pharmaceutical spending per capita, spent CHF 8 Billion (8.1 billion euro) on drugs prescribed for specific diseases in the first nine months of 2022. In an effort to combat the high drug spending, Switzerland has implemented an increasing number of discount models for on and off-label drug usage over the last five years. While intending to ensure accessibility to patients at sustainable prices, the complexity of the price models leads to millions spent by insurers to monitor and adjudicate the price models, resulting in an estimated CHF two- to three-digit million range of missed rebates.
Lyfegen's software enables EGK to identify and claim rebates from 141 drug price models with 32 manufacturers, with minimal effort and maximum transparency. This includes cases of rare or chronic illnesses, promising therapies that may be used outside the approved indication, or new drugs not yet available or approved in Switzerland. Lyfegen's platform addresses the needs of Swiss health insurers for cost efficiency and digitalization, helps solve existing complexities in the system, and does its utmost to counteract high insurance premiums.
"We are delighted to support EGK and take an active role in addressing the growing complexity of drug pricing models to support sustainable access to innovative drugs and therapies in Switzerland,” said Nico Mros, CXO and Co-Founder of Lyfegen. “By focusing on making the implementation of the platform as easy as possible and being responsive to EGK, we were able to quickly present results and kickoff the collaboration to a successful start!"
“With the Lyfegen Platform, EGK is further expanding its focus on sustainability and efficiency for the benefit of our policyholders”, said Carolina Pirelli, Head of Benefits and Deputy CEO at EGK. “The ever-increasing number of pricing models for medications poses challenges for insurance companies in terms of resources and processes. With the automated processing of pricing models through the Lyfegen Platform, we are able to perfectly meet our current needs and with Lyfegen's flexibility, focus and understanding, we see ourselves in good hands.”
About Lyfegen
Lyfegen is a global healthtech SaaS analytics company providing a value-based agreement platform for drugs, therapies and devices. Health insurances, pharma, medtech companies & hospitals use the secure platform for thousands of payment models throughout Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East and North America. The Lyfegen Platform supports the negotiation and automated execution of value-based payment models cost-effectively and at scale using real-world data and machine learning. Globally renowned health insurances, hospitals, pharma & medtech companies have already implemented Lyfegen’s patent-pending platform to scale value-based payment models for drugs, therapies and devices, improving access to treatments and patient outcomes.
Lyfegen was founded by individuals with decades of experience in healthcare, pharma and technology, pioneering the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare. For more information, visit www.lyfegen.com.
About EGK-Gesundheitskasse
EGK-Gesundheitskasse is an SME health insurer based in Laufen (BL), Switzerland. The EGK Group comprises EGK Grundversicherungen AG (basic insurance in accordance with KVG), EGK Privatversicherungen AG (supplementary insurance in accordance with VVG) and EGK Services AG (administration). It insures around 100,000 people in basic insurance throughout Switzerland, 80% of them also have EGK supplementary insurance.
Naturalness and sustainability are part of EGK's values. It is considered a pioneer in providing unrestricted access to excellent complementary medicine. It launches and supports activities throughout Switzerland to strengthen health in a natural way.
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Lyfegen’s value-based contracting software is used by healthcare payers and leading pharma companies, including Novartis, Roche, MSD, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Johnson & Johnson
New York, NY - September 20, 2022 - Lyfegen, a global healthtech SaaS company driving the world’s transition from volume to value-based healthcare for high-cost drugs, today announced an oversubscribed $8 million Series A financing round led by aMoon, with additional participation from APEX Ventures and others.
Currently, less than 2% of the health insurance population requiring specialty drugs is responsible for 51% of drug spending. The cost of specialty drugs in the US is spiraling out of control, increasing 12% from 2020 to 2021 alone, with no sign of slowing down due to the increase of cell and gene therapies expected to come to market. As a result, value-based contracting is becoming a more viable alternative for healthcare payers to only pay for drugs that actually work.
By 2025, total net spending on medicine in the US is expected to reach up to $400B. Additionally, new drugs regularly enter the market, but when pharmaceutical companies fail to agree on commercial terms with payers, patients are at risk of being denied access to life saving therapies. Lyfegen’s platform helps regulators, pharma companies and payers more easily adopt value-based payment models by digitizing the end-to-end process of data collection, anonymization and contract negotiations for all parties to agree upon drug pricing and reimbursement.
“We are excited to be announcing this funding round and to have this vote of confidence from aMoon, APEX and our other investors who understand the shift in healthcare that we are experiencing, and are supporting our efforts to expand the Lyfegen platform,” said Girisha Fernando, CEO and founder of Lyfegen. “We currently work with leading government payers, health insurance companies in Europe, the US and the Middle East, and some of the world’s largest pharma companies. Our plan now is to further expand our presence in the US, partnering with both private and public healthcare insurance companies. The move away from volume-based healthcare has never been more needed, and we are happy to play an important role in the shift to value-based contracting.”
“Lyfegen is addressing a significant market need in an industry that is changing dramatically and rapidly, and we are thrilled to help validate their efforts through our investment,” said Moshic Mor, General Partner at aMoon, and former Partner at Greylock and Greylock Israel. “During a time of healthcare budget pressures and recessions, the world needs Lyfegen’s solution now more than ever. We look forward to seeing the company, led by an incredible executive team, continue to enhance access to new drugs as they drive value-based healthcare to become increasingly mainstream.”
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 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 was founded by individuals with decades of experience in healthcare, pharma and technology to enable the shift away from volume-based and fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare. For more information, visit www.lyfegen.com.
Media Contact
Yael Hart
GK for Lyfegen
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Read the Press Release on PR Newswire
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The whitepaper is a joint initiative to share with healthcare stakeholders some of Lyfegen and KPMG’s expertise and experience in the development and implementation of value and data-driven agreements in an evolving healthcare environment.
Official Communication by KPMG on 26.10.2020
KPMG addresses the most pressing challenges the healthcare sector is facing today and in the future. Society’s desire to obtain value from the wider healthcare system is not new, however recent experience shows that there is a need to rethink and move healthcare into a new age.
Two current megatrends are: 1) the redesign of pricing for health solutions, and 2) the value of data and the importance of patient access. It is important to address both elements within the Life Sciences ecosystem, including how to innovate, how to develop successful digitalization strategies, and how to get the most out of data.
How outcome-based contracts benefit healthcare
The pricing of services and products based on outcomes or value created is another intrinsic element of the future of healthcare. Rising healthcare costs impact patient budgets and hinder access to treatments. Incentivizing positive outcomes can only benefit patients, while payers gain confidence that they are only reimbursing effective treatments. Manufacturers and providers that buy into the outcome-based model are taking an important step towards making their business more sustainable while contributing to the wider interest of the healthcare ecosystem.
One of the key issues has always been defining the factors that represent value and deciding how to measure them. To give an example, how do you measure if a patient is symptom-free and how long should the observation period last? How is the impact on those caring for an individual considered and how is the societal or economic impact assessed, e.g., can the individual go back to pursuing a career? These questions are key in any reimbursement of pricing arrangements.
Helping the healthcare community
Teaming up with Lyfegen, a healthtech company facilitating access to innovative therapies, KPMG recently published a joint whitepaper (see link below) on the application of outcome-based contracting. Girisha Fernando (CEO and Founder of Lyfegen HealthTech AG) and Martin Rohrbach (Head of Life Sciences for KPMG Switzerland) discuss how this approach can deliver value for healthcare payers, providers and patients.
The whitepaper is a joint initiative to share with healthcare stakeholders some of Lyfegen and KPMG’s expertise and experience in the development and implementation of value and data-driven agreements in an evolving healthcare environment. The combination of knowledge, reach, and technology specific to value-based healthcare, together with proven practical experience, brings unique insights into value and data-driven pricing agreements for healthcare stakeholders. The whitepaper focuses on why outcome-based contracting can address drug access and reimbursement challenges, and how such contracts can be enabled by innovative technology. There are some clear takeaways, serving as building blocks and opportunities to engage in outcome-based contracting for the benefit of healthcare systems.
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Basel, Switzerland | April 17th, 2019 – Lyfegen HealthTech AG successfully closes its seed financing round, raising a total of CHF 750‘000. The funding was led by Swiss private investors. The funds will be used to further build Lyfegen’s value-based payments platform Lyfevalue and conduct further pilots with partners in the US, Africa, and the EU, including the UK.
Lyfegen is a healthcare technology company that has developed a ground-breaking solution to accelerate value-based healthcare, entering a market set to grow to USD 390.7 billion by 2024 according to latest market research. Its platform, Lyfevalue, collects, analyses & reconciles disparate healthcare data for the purpose of automating value-based healthcare contracting. The platform enables life sciences companies, national and private healthcare payers and healthcare providers to operationalise value-based healthcare strategies whilst benefiting from a single holistic solution for their value-based healthcare operations, visit checklistmaids.com. In addition, the platform allows for personalised healthcare by enabling patient level pricing, fostering accelerated and facilitated access to innovative treatments for patients.
“Enabling the shift to sustainable healthcare is a huge challenge, giving us at Lyfegen great purpose and we are honoured to work with individuals that truly care about making a difference for patients around the world,” said Girisha Fernando, Lyfegen’s CEO & Founder.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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The transition to value-based care is happening at a slower pace than policymakers and healthcare industry leaders had hoped. Stakeholders are struggling to negotiate and then operationalize these complex agreements.
The adoption of value-based drug pricing agreements is not widespread in the U.S., despite the stated strong interest from policymakers and the healthcare industry in tying the price of drugs to their benefit to patient outcomes and value to the health system. Outside of the government Medicare and Medicaid programs, the fee-for-service, volume-based payment model still accounted for almost 56% of commercial health payer contracts as of 2018.
Many value-based pharmaceutical arrangements are not disclosed publicly, making it difficult to know how many are implemented in the U.S. each year. According to the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), there were 73 publicly disclosed value-based drug contracts at the end of 2019. A study published the same year in the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) suggested that, because of the confidentiality surrounding most agreements, analysts are underestimating the number of value-based pricing arrangements in effect and their impact on the U.S. pharmaceutical market.
In this article, we will highlight some concerns a payer and manufacturer considering a value-based drug pricing arrangement may each face, and give some insight into why these agreements aren't more widely accepted.
Payers modeling risk
A 2019 survey by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) and the Duke-Margolis Center for Health policy showed that for payers, top deal-breakers in negotiations for value-based pricing arrangements were disagreements over incentive mechanisms for participation and financial terms. From the payer’s standpoint, a new, high-cost drug–especially one that addresses unmet needs or rare and orphan diseases–is worth the risk if it brings innovative, effective treatment for patients who may have no other options. But payers want to share that risk with the manufacturer when there’s the potential for a substantial impact on the payer’s budget.
Based on publicly available information, oncology, hematology, cardiology, and endocrinology drug treatments are common subjects of value-based pricing arrangements. These treatments have well-defined patient populations, easy-to-see impact measures, endpoints, and cures that make them more appealing to payers. It’s much more difficult to objectively measure the patient health outcomes for treatments covering pain management or mental health.
Payers also prefer treatments that show clinical results in a few months, not years. Tracking a patient’s health to confirm a drug’s value becomes more difficult when a drug takes years to show evidence of long-term benefits. For example, a longer-term benefit of treatment may be the avoidance of hospitalization. In the U.S., patients may leave a payer’s plan at any time, so this future cost may not be captured in the data collection under a current agreement.
Related Post: Value-based pricing vs best price? Medicaid's best price problem
Manufacturers sharing risk
When considering coverage of a new drug, payers might question the results of clinical trials, especially if there is limited real-world data because of an expedited FDA approval. So manufacturers must continue to create opportunities to generate real-world evidence that convinces payers of their drug’s value. And they must be ready and willing to share in the risk that a drug may not meet expectations in phase 4 confirmatory trials.
When a new drug has strong competition in the market, manufacturers need real-world evidence to differentiate their product and show their treatment brings better clinical outcomes and value than other options available. Value-based drug pricing agreements are an opportunity to fill that knowledge gap. Pharmaceutical companies not willing to do them to get that real-world evidence may lose out to those who are ready to take on innovative pharmaceutical agreements.
Contract partners building data-gathering and analytics capacity
In the 2019 NPC survey, manufacturers cited data collection challenges and disagreements on outcome measures among their top deal breakers.
Choosing the right contract model to fit the product and the capabilities of the contract partners is the first step. This means researching publicly available value-based drug pricing arrangements to learn the rewards and pitfalls of various contract models. All the contract partners must agree on the key metrics to be measured and how the data will be used to determine a drug’s value to patient health outcomes.
For the data-sharing component of value-based pricing arrangements, contract partners must develop a relationship that includes trust, cooperation, and an unusual level of transparency. Sometimes this relationship is best fostered and protected by the support services of a neutral third party, especially when one or both of the contract partners doesn’t have the technical capacity or administrative staff to operationalize a value-based drug pricing agreement.
The Lyfegen Solution
Value-based drug pricing arrangements are hard, but Lyfegen can make them easier. If your organization is considering a value-based pricing agreement, start by researching real-world examples of drug pricing arrangements in Lyfegen’s Models and Agreements Library. With a collection of more than 20 drug pricing models and over 1000 value-based agreements in use worldwide, the Lyfegen Library can help you discern what pricing arrangement is appropriate for your goals, your current operational capabilities, and your contract partners.
Lyfegen’s value-based contracting software can then operationalize the contract model you choose. We help healthcare insurances, pharma, and medtech companies implement and scale value-based drug pricing contracts with greater efficiency and transparency. The Lyfegen Platform collects real-world data and uses intelligent algorithms to provide valuable insights on drug performance and cost.
By enabling the shift away from volume-based, fee-for-service healthcare to value-based healthcare, Lyfegen increases access to healthcare treatments and their affordability.
To learn more about Lyfegen’s software solutions, contact us to book a demo.
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Signs point to a greater role for indication-specific pricing in Medicare and Medicaid
Indication-specific pricing is a differential pricing method used by payers. Conceptually, it’s based on the idea that certain drugs with multiple indications have differential relative clinical benefit for each indication, or for each distinct patient subpopulation. The rationale behind indication-specific pricing is that the comparative clinical value of a drug can vary widely across indications, accordingly, so should the price if price and value are to align.
The figure below shows the difference between a uniform price – in this case, the price for indication A; green line – applied to all indications versus indication-based pricing.
Figure: Indication-specific pricing
Source: Institute for Clinical and Economic Review
The standard pricing model for pharmaceuticals constitutes a single price across all indications; in this instance, the price for indication A. It’s straightforward, as there is only one price. Besides, it’s the model stakeholders in the healthcare system have been accustomed to for decades. Moving to indication-specific pricing implies different prices for the four indications A, B, C, and D.
The most straightforward approach to indication-specific pricing by payers for a drug approved for, say, two different indications is to simply treat it as two different drugs. This would require two types of packaging, unique sets of National Drug Codes, for instance, for each of the packages, and for injectable drugs, two different Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) J codes.
Indication-specific pricing is appealing because it supports value-based healthcare by aligning price and value. But it’s not an easy task for both drug manufacturers and payers to set indication-specific prices, as this requires patient stratification, and ultimately anchoring of prices to certain measures of cost-effectiveness, such as the cost per Quality-Adjusted-Life-Year (QALY).
Thus far, the use of indication-specific pricing has been limited in the U.S. to several pilot programs. Specifically, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Express Scripts employs indication-specific pricing in number of different classes of cancer drugs, and the PBM CVS Caremark does this for several auto-immune diseases.
According to the PBMs, indication-specific pricing can provide a justification for higher prices for secondary indications that provide greater clinical benefits. In the context of value being assessed, this may help address payer resistance to expanding coverage to include supplemental indications. 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 indication-specific pricing arrangements. The Lyfegen platform identifies and operationalizes value-based indication-specific models in a cost-effective manner.
Indication specific pricing could alter prices for the biologic Avastin (bevacizumab), for example, when used for cervical cancer and colon cancer, respectively, depending on the willingness to pay threshold, which in turn may be based on different cost per QALY estimates.
Also, there are differences in the comparative value of the cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) when used in different indications (metastatic versus adjuvant HER-2 positive breast cancer). A possible solution to this problem is for Herceptin to have two prices, one for its metastatic indication, and another for its adjuvant indication.
When Novartis won its groundbreaking CAR-T approval, Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) in 2018, both the drugmaker and U.S. policymakers at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) touted performance-based and indication-specific pricing as ways to help finance the $475,000 therapy. Unfortunately, the CMS backed away from a plan to implement a value-based contract for Kymriah. This decision may be revisited, as the pipeline is filled with cell and gene therapies that have large upfront costs for CMS, which must somehow be managed.
Moreover, given the many value-based experiments state Medicaid agencies are currently involved in – from value-based formularies to subscription models for the purchase of hepatitis C medications – this could spur more use of indication-specific pricing in Medicaid.
New “best price” rules in Medicaid went into effect July 1, 2022. The reason for changes in best price rules is to induce more use of value-based contract arrangements, including indication-specific pricing. Newly established protocols allow for the reporting of multiple best prices.
Specifically, to facilitate the broad adoption of these types of contracts, the novel best price rule allows drug manufacturers to report a range of best prices to the extent they may be determined by varying discounts under value-based pricing arrangements, along with the regular best price under any non-value-based pricing arrangements.
Here, value-based pricing arrangements are outcomes-based contracts which vary rebates based on patient outcomes. This can be stratified by indication. In this context, lower discounts may be offered for patients with better-than-expected outcomes in certain indications, and higher discounts for poorer outcomes and lower-than-expected clinical effectiveness of a drug in one or more indications.
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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When was the last time you used a business software or platform with a seamless user experience? Was it fun? Was it visually appealing? Probably not.
In this article, we consider the benefits of drastically improving the user experience of contracting software with examples of companies that have taken this step and inspired Lyfegen.
Contracting Software
Contracting software has usually been perceived as boring and unsophisticated, until recently. It takes careful application of innovation, user empathy, and design thinking to create unique, memorable experiences. Contracting software should focus on providing a pleasant user experience, especially when it is about patients. It takes away a whole lot of burden from the users while providing the most value.
There are new innovative designs of forms, pages, and workflows that keep users engaged and satisfied. Enjoyable contracting software should provide the most value while reducing the negative impacts.
Why great user experience is paramount to user satisfaction
Lyfegen takes cues from consumer web applications where innovation thrives. In 2020, Lyfegen conducted a big user experience review, where our product team needed to get to the bottom of what can make using the platform more enjoyable. “Why can't my business software look and feel enjoyable?" At Lyfegen we think that it can and it should. Every software should look and feel enjoyable.
We learned how users interact with the approval workflow using real-world data and feedback from customers. With these learnings, we further optimize the user experience and address issues or concerns that appear consistently. Users will bring expectations raised by consumer apps to their business applications. In response, we raise the bar to make work software equally appealing.
Lyfegen makes the whole process a breeze by rewarding customers with an amazing design experience, stepping up the game by making value-based contracting fun.
Some successful real-world examples
In consumer web applications, there are so many companies that are making drastic changes from the old design patterns to newer more innovative designs. These brands took the bold step of doing things differently while still providing the desired results. These are also the ones that Lyfegen took inspiration from.
Airbnb.com enables contracts between guests and hosts.
- Big beautiful imagery. People, smiles, quirky architecture.
- Emotional scenes that make you want to be there: cottage in the woods, hut on the beach, or a comfy townhouse.
But also clever UX: Forms disguised as slick toolbars. Generous date pickers that are easy to click
Mobile.de enables contracts between car buyers and sellers.
- Sensible defaults bootstrap your car search with a single click.
- Common search patterns detected from thousands of users turn into quick search shortcuts such as "City car" and "Family car.”
- Kickstarting a search avoids having to fill many form fields.
Upwork.com enables contracts between job seekers (talent) and hiring clients.
- The contracting path is optimized for speed. Both parties want to get the work under way quickly.
- Templates bootstrap and automate repetitive tasks. Why write every contract from scratch when you can extract best practices into a common library. Hint! This is what the Model Library will do in the Lyfegen Platform, watch out for a future blog post.
Lyfegen Platform mechanisms that bring speed and joy
The Lyfegen Platform enables contracts with pharmaceutical companies, healthcare payers and healthcare providers. At Lyfegen we understand that great user experience is paramount to user satisfaction. Hence, the reason why we pay critical attention to existing problems and proffer appropriate solutions to them is to create experiences that have the most long-lasting impact on the users.
What do we do differently to make these contracts fluid and useful?
- Forms: We use sensible defaults to make filling forms faster. Quick date pickers with popular date ranges (“Last month”, “This week”) help when scheduling is a big part of your work. Progressive disclosure reduces information overflow on forms – show only what the user needs to fill in right now to complete the task.
- Approvals: What is a modern way to do contract approvals? Chat threads! Users are familiar with chats from WhatsApp, Facebook and many other tools. A chat thread can be attached to virtually any item on the platform: agreements, claims, cases and refunds. The chat stays with the item so users don't lose context of what happened to the item.
- Tasks: How does the user know what they should be focusing on today? On the Home screen, the My tasks widget, email notifications, and the Recent Activity widget collect essential platform activity. You can see instantly what needs your attention today.
- Collaboration: @-mentions and chat threads offer quick resolution to questions. Tag a colleague and ask a question. They get a notification and provide an answer in the same thread. Problem resolved, move on! Chat works particularly well when conversation heats up and many users talk concurrently in real time.
- Interactive insights. Showing KPIs and key results on a dashboard is common practice. In fact, a dashboard is the favorite starting screen for many users. But charts really come alive when you interact with them. Have you used a mortgage calculator on a bank website? We also let users model alternative scenarios and see projections. “What will happen in my agreement next year if we continue like this?”
In conclusion, these are only a few examples of usage patterns that make contracting software modern and enjoyable. There is more room for improvement and the possibilities are endless. It requires the expertise which we at Lyfegen provide. Through our platform, we create brand new experiences in value-based contracting. Care to know more about contracting software? make sure to keep an eye out for our future posts.
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This influential player in the U.S. pharmaceutical sector is changing the dynamics of price negotiations between payers and drug manufacturers. But is ICER helping bring healthcare costs down or contributing to rising drug prices?
Who is ICER?
Over the last decade, a small, Boston-based independent, nonprofit research organization has become a powerful influence over the formulary exclusion decisions and drug prices commercial and government payers will pay. Founded in 2006, The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) was relatively unknown before 2014. But after gaining national recognition for an assessment about the cost-effectiveness of a Hepatitis C therapy regime, ICER quickly became a trusted source of data and pharmaceutical economics research.
ICER’s assessments are cited in national policy debate and in pharmaceutical price negotiations between insurers and drug manufacturers. According to ICER, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, some state Medicaid agencies and over 75% of private insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and self-insuring organizations now use ICER’s drug pricing assessments and resources in their policy decision making.
What does ICER do?
ICER conducts clinical and economic assessments of drug treatments to calculate what it considers a drug’s fair market price. They consider a drug’s value and effectiveness for treating the illness for which it was designed, followed by a budget impact analysis to estimate how much the national health system could save with its suggested cost-effective pricing. Using this data, ICER analyses calculate a suggested drug price for payers where cost-effectiveness aligns with the value of the increased benefit to the patient’s health. ICER says it seeks feedback from all stakeholders—manufacturers, clinicians, payers, patients and families.
How is ICER affecting national drug prices?
A leading pharmaceutical economics expert, Dr. Adam J. Fein of Drug Channels Institute, reports that pharmaceutical list prices rose by up to 15% from 2010 to 2015. During the next five years, up to mid-2020—as ICER rose to national prominence—list price growth dropped to 4.2%.
In 2018, ICON, a leading healthcare industry consultant, conducted a survey about the influence of ICER’s work on drug pricing and national healthcare costs. The ICON survey revealed that ICER’s cost effectiveness metrics and price recommendations are affecting contract negotiations between drug manufacturers and payers and driving drug prices down.
Most payers are no longer willing to accept whatever price drug manufacturers decide to charge. Over a third of the payers in the ICON survey stated it was likely, or extremely likely, that they would ask for a rebate from the drug manufacturer to reduce the cost of a drug to match ICER’s suggested price. In response, manufacturers will increase their drug list price, then offset part of the price increase with larger rebates to payers—this is known as the gross-to-net bubble.
How is ICER affecting access to expensive drug treatments?
Out of the 90 participants ICON surveyed during a pharmaceutical industry webinar, 65% believed ICER had a moderate to significant impact on formulary decisions; ICON’s research also showed that payers who use ICER’s cost-effective pricing were more likely to use strict prior authorization requirements for some drugs to encourage clinicians and patients to use the most cost-effective drug treatments. Critics point to this as one of the harmful consequences of ICER’s work.
What do critics of ICER say?
Some patient advocate groups—with the support of pharmaceutical manufacturers—are concerned that by encouraging payers to exclude less cost-effective but still clinically effective treatments in their formularies, ICER is promoting payer discrimination against some patients who need expensive specialty medications, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and those living with rare diseases.
Critics such as The Alliance for Aging Research point to data that show ICER’s impact on payer demands for higher rebates are causing increasing out-of-pocket costs for seniors using Part D Medicare benefits. Manufacturers raise their list prices, then meet payer demands for ICER’s suggested drug pricing using the gross-to-net bubble rebates. However, some payers still calculate the co-insurance percentages that patients pay for their prescriptions based on the manufacturer’s full, undiscounted list price.
Lyfegen can help implement value-based drug pricing agreements
Despite the debate about whether ICER is a help or a hinderance in the work of healthcare cost containment and better patient access, ICER’s influence will probably continue to grow as value-based contracts and risk-sharing agreements become more common. Lyfegen’s value-based contracting platform operationalizes and manages these complex drug pricing payment arrangements by seamlessly capturing and analyzing data.
Lyfegen’s software can help your organization implement any value-based contract, covering multiple therapeutic areas, with public or private payers. Contact us to learn more about our platform and to book a demo.
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Families forced to hold a fundraiser because their child’s healthcare system won’t save his life.
Recently, the news has once again been covering a family that is struggling to cover the cost of the most expensive drug in America for their son, Devdan. The insurer refused coverage of the treatment for his rare disease, totaling $2.125 million.
Devdan was born with Spinal Muscle Atrophy (SMA). SMA damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing progressive muscle weakness and problems breathing, speaking, swallowing, and walking. Zolgensma’s onetime gene therapy treats SMA and has earned the title of the most expensive drug in America.
It is currently Devdan’s only hope for a normal life. In this case, to save their child’s health and future, the parent’s initiated a fundraiser through Ray of Hope Foundation.
Most of us probably don’t consider what or how hospitals pay for their supplies. When we pay our medical insurance premiums, we buy a plan and think we’re covered in case of a medical emergency. But what many families of children with rare disease have learned, that’s not always the case. Rare diseases aren’t funded the same way common medical conditions are paid for. There aren’t enough patients to warrant extensive research and treatment developments. Consequently, medical care is often unconventional. As a result of these novel treatments, patients with rare disease often receive Surprise Medical Billing or are denied coverage altogether.
Value Based Healthcare (VBHC) Saves Lives
Medications and treatments that deviate from the routine can be a financial disaster for hospitals, families, care providers, and health systems. And organizations with a strong commitment to value-based healthcare have seen sustainable gains. In this case, had Devdan’s medical facility operated under a value-based healthcare reimbursement model, this life-saving treatment would have been available and the critical care for this child could have begun without delay.
Calculating value-based reimbursements measures numerous points of quality and the overall health of a population. Unlike a fee-for-service model, value-based healthcare providers must report data to payers and demonstrate improvement. The VBHC model has many advantages, including improved patient satisfaction, a reduction in healthcare delivery costs, and better health for the patient populations being served.
Better management of financial challenges with Lyfegen
The VBHC model has many advantages, including improved patient satisfaction, a reduction in healthcare delivery costs, and better health for the patient populations being served. Luckily, Devdan’s Ray of Hope fundraising effort has achieved the needed target of $2.86M. More than 29’000 people came together to raise this enormous amount in such a short period of time to give Devdan a second chance at life.
This unfortunate scenario is common for those dealing with rare disease, and those in need of extraordinary medical care. Had Devdan’s insurance participated in a value-based program, the necessary medicine could have been provided for with no delay in treatment. As the health care market adjusts to the pandemic and prepares for the future, leaders must decide whether to accelerate their participation in value-based healthcare to meet the clinical and financial challenges that will remain for years to come.
To learn more about Lyfegen and request a free demo, contact us today.
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