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Deloitte Market Access Excellence (MAx) commercial framework

Develop successful pharmaceutical market access strategies in a rapidly evolving access landscape

“If we build it, they will buy it” orthodoxy is no longer relevant in today’s access landscape. Life sciences manufacturers—from those that develop small molecule products to complex biologics to cell and gene therapies—often face challenges developing successful market access strategies. Payers’ growing influence, declining access to physicians, intense competition, and a shift away from primary care drugs toward specialty therapy areas are leading to a constrained access landscape. Find out how Deloitte’s Market Access Excellence (MAx) Framework can help cross-functional brand teams align on the strategic choices needed to enhance patient access throughout the product life cycle.

MAx strategy framework guides “must-answer” market access choices

It is not feasible to control either market dynamics or the future; however, the pharmaceutical market access factors that contribute to missing expectations can be addressed by using a codified framework to develop the market access strategy for assets in Phase 2 through launch and post-launch.

Deloitte’s Market Access Excellence (MAx) Commercial framework consists of six core principles that guide development of a winning market access strategy for late-stage clinical and in-line brands; 10 interdependent, “must answer” choices supported by key business questions (KBQs); and analytical tools, templates, and processes that inform research, insight-generation, and decision-making.

Core MAx principles

  1. Follow a rigorous and disciplined approach to develop, evaluate, and evolve competitive market access strategies.
  2. Start with what matters most to access stakeholders (i.e., payers, PBMs, IDNs, channel partners) and work backwards to demonstrate and communicate the offering’s value
  3. Develop an overarching value strategy for the ecosystem using a comprehensive set of market access levers.
  4. Build in flexibility to adapt to the Therapeutic Area (TA) and brand context and changes in the access paradigm (e.g., biosimilars, emerging stakeholders).
  5. Make conscious tradeoffs in pursuit of sustainable, profitable market access.
  6. Ensure alignment and coordination with overarching brand strategy.

MAx Commercial allows organizational functions to use a common language; this provides consistency in developing and communicating market access activities throughout the product life cycle and enables brand teams to:

  • Generate insights and make strategic choices targeting payer stakeholders, in a consistent way
  • Develop a common language system with cross-functional teams for payer analysis and strategy formulation
  • Align cross-functional teams on the access environment and brand access potential
  • Utilize analytical tools to support strategic choices including target reimbursable patient population, stakeholder engagement, value analysis, pricing, and value management
  • Fundamentally improve the level of analytical rigor in market access decision making
  • Help confirm that financial and GTN analysis is consistent with brand characteristics and evolving market realities

Deloitte was engaged to lead a brand use case with our client's US brand team members to define and quantify a value story that will help the brand achieve its market access goals and support the company's launch into a new therapeutic area. Our process included:

  • Disease burden quantification: Analyzing actuarial claims to identify and quantify the direct and indirect cost value drivers linked to moderate-to-severe patients
  • Stakeholder value driver mapping: Mapping and prioritizing brand value drivers to a payer's access decision flow based on driver alignment and ability to impact
  • Value catalog development: Translating the prioritized value drivers into desired claims and proof points, and identifying and prioritizing evidence requirements
  • Value price quantification: Aligning on the disease burden's direct and indirect cost drivers and the quantifiable impact the brand can potentially have in reducing those costs

As a result, our client gained cross-functional alignment on the value story framework, value differentiating opportunities, and the evidence requirements to enable the brand's value story. We also informed our client's pricing strategy with a value price view aligned to the way their customers would value the product.

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Behind Deloitte’s MAx Framework is a robust set of pharmaceutical market access capabilities, including consulting, risk and financial advisory services and next-generation platforms from ConvergeHEALTH.

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Building an evidence-driven framework for greater access

In this increasingly constrained landscape, how do biopharma companies develop successful market access strategies? The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveyed health care executive decision-makers to understand how health care stakeholders approach coverage and placement decisions and how these are changing.

Rethinking biopharma communication in 2020

Get in touch

Teresa Leste

Teresa Leste

Strategy Practice Leader | Life Sciences
+1 212 829 6064