Pharmaceutical companies gain Market Access by talking to the right decision makers at the right time in the right way namely those with budget responsibilities within the NHS.
Market Access is an approach taken by a growing number of companies to introduce new products, outlining clinical and cost benefits, as well as the potential impacts on patients and the health economy. UK Market Access is gained when the NHS accepts the value proportion of a product ahead of the launch since the NHS forecasts budgets annually, a company will engage budget holders up to two years in advance helping to give their product proposition value beyond cost.
This approach is regulated in the UK by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and companies seeking to gain Market Access must comply with the ABPI's Code of Practice. This states that companies selling pharmaceutical products must not make competitive claims by way of promotion instead their data should be based on clinical trials, cost-effectiveness and availability to patients.
Failure to comply to the code could delay a product launch and bring the industry into disrepute. This is why Market Access teams take a localised approach and only contact budget holders within specific disease areas regional product markets vary and working with the large number of NHS budget holder groups can be a labour intensive process.
This is why the industry's approach to Market Access is changing. This approach is relevant to the whole pharmaceutical industry, but not all companies can sustain this kind of resource. Pharmaceutical companies require greater expertise in understanding local funding and decision pathways. In addition, clinical data from trials needs to be supported by real life outcomes post launch.
Some companies have succeeded in selling products without taking a Market Access approach yet this can lead to delayed uptake and less than 20 per cent achieve a market share beyond 9 per cent within 18 months of launch. Traditionally Market Access is managed in house yet only around 10 per cent of pharmaceutical companies have or require a permanent resource. This is why new contract teams, like Quintiles, are emerging to support companies who cannot justify a year-round resource.