D2 Insights

The New Way To Optimize Pharma Market Access

Written by Dean Erhardt | 2/9/24 1:06 PM

Understanding Pharmaceutical Market Access


Pharmaceutical companies must go through a complex process to ensure their medications are available to as many patients as possible. In a perfect world, pharmaceutical market access ensures that every patient who would benefit from medication has access to what they need at the appropriate price. Access to certain medications, of course, may be a life-or-death situation for patient health.

In America, decision-makers of healthcare systems allow patient access to medications that pass the clinical trial phases necessary to become FDA-approved. Nevertheless, a specific branded medicine is not added as an approved reimbursable prescription by a payor, such as a major healthcare system, without considering the economic outcomes.

Clinical development of treatment protocols alone is insufficient for a comprehensive market access strategy. Pharma market access must also consider pricing, reimbursement, and cost-effectiveness. Evidence-based outcomes have become the driving force as Traditional methods that are less efficient reduce the ROI of pharmaceutical companies.

Pharma access also encompasses a specialty pharmacy’s ability to provide the medications needed by their customers from brands authorized for reimbursement. Digital systems are replacing traditional methods with more cost-effective techniques that automate repetitive tasks and reduce errors.

Health Economics

The pharma market is becoming more focused on health economics. Health economics deals with efficiency, effectiveness, patient behavior, and offering value propositions for healthcare services in an environment of soaring healthcare and prescription drug costs.

Pricing considerations include these steps:

  • Data collection and evidence generation
  • Review of market dynamics
  • Cross-functional opportunity evaluation
  • Distribution channels
  • Revenue forecasts
  • Testing various pricing models
  • Handling uncertainty with managed entry agreements


Managed entry agreements are made between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare payers to permit coverage for new medications when the financial impact is still unknown. Specialty pharmacies and healthcare systems complete the circuit by helping collect patient data to produce the analysis needed for these evidence-based approaches.

The Value of a Managed Pharma Market

A pharma-managed market that integrates the efforts of pharmaceutical companies, the healthcare systems as the payers, and the specialty pharmacies, helps ensure patient access to new medications. When a pharmaceutical company manages a market effectively, it can create the successful launch of a new drug. If it does not manage the market, an expensive failed product launch may be the result.

D2 Solutions helps position new products and existing products for market access and reimbursement. With an industry footprint and over 350+ product launches under our belt, we're committed to developing a cross-functional strategy, incorporating digital technology, and optimizing your outcomes.