menu toggle

July 12, 2016

Xcenda Unveils New Service Offerings to Enhance Manufacturers' Market Access Strategies for Specialty Products

Valley Forge, PA – Xcenda, a part of AmerisourceBergen, announced today the addition of several new service offerings designed to meet the evolving needs of manufacturers in a highly complex, value-driven environment. Xcenda’s new services are designed to help manufacturers prove the value of their products as they collaborate with stakeholders to improve patient access to medications.

To support manufacturers in this value- and quality-conscious environment, Xcenda is announcing these new offerings:

Value-Based Decision Support and Calculation Tools   
In response to the increasing demand to manage healthcare costs, organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and most recently the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) have introduced frameworks to assess the value of cancer treatments. Xcenda understands the complexities that these frameworks present, and is now offering services to help clients determine the potential impact (individually and collectively) on their product portfolio. Additionally, they have developed user-friendly iPad and Excel value calculator tools that allow manufacturers to determine value scores and anticipate future research needs that can drive more effective reimbursement and payer education strategies. This includes alignment with the most recent version of the ASCO Value Framework.

Quality Strategy and Tactics Capabilities
Manufacturers face evolving payment models and expectations of the value provided by pharmaceutical products. Xcenda can now help manufacturers develop strategies to demonstrate the clinical impact of products and how they improve quality by matching them with a suite of tactical services to help shift the discussion from price to value and quality.
Xcenda has long been a pioneer in the area of field reimbursement support and is now leveraging their established best practices and operational excellence with the following enhanced resource services:

Health Economics & Outcomes Research (HEOR) Contract Associates
Manufacturers can turn to Xcenda for strategic guidance on, and the generation of, health economics and outcomes evidence that healthcare decision makers will find credible. Xcenda HEOR experts – both for in-house and field-based teams – are available on a contract basis to provide support to health outcomes teams by developing strategies, executing projects, creating and communicating effective product value stories, and supporting product approval. With their extensive knowledge, along with deep understanding of payer perspectives and their decision-making process, these consultants are well positioned to make an immediate impact for manufacturers when brought onto a team.

Outsourced Managed Care Account Executive (MCAE) Team
The demand for seasoned managed care account managers continues to grow as customers expect more meaningful conversations and evidence-based guidance from payer-facing personnel. Faced with the complexities of newer agents and continually changing reimbursement decision-making processes, managed care account executives must have specialized skills, along with strong clinical and business acumen to help payers better understand the benefits of various treatments. Manufacturers can now work with Xcenda’s MCAE team, which serves as a credible resource to managed care decision-makers in the delivery of disease burden information, product value messages, clinical/economic data, and contracting guidelines. Manufacturers will benefit from Xcenda’s longstanding relationships with commercial, MCO, Medicare, PBM, IDN, and GPO decision-makers, as well as a flexible, customizable approach to meet their team needs.

Leading the way in providing these additional client services is Xcenda’s new president, Thomas Bramley, PhD, RPh, who has helped grow the organization from a health economics and outcomes research firm to a global leader in commercialization support. With more than 15 years of experience advising leadership teams in the pharmaceutical industry on real-world evidence generation and market access principles to optimize product success in value-based markets, Dr. Bramley is exceptionally qualified to lead Xcenda’s efforts to help manufacturers demonstrate the value of their pharmaceutical products while improving patient access to medications.

“Throughout my career at Xcenda, we have continued to see the needs of manufacturers evolve in response to the value-driven healthcare environment, and have directly aligned our resources to meet these growing needs, and ultimately, maximize patient access,” Dr. Bramley said. “Xcenda continues to bring expertise across scientific, commercial, and field support disciplines to remain at the forefront of these changes by adding services that help manufacturers demonstrate a holistic value proposition and successfully commercialize their product.”

About AmerisourceBergen
AmerisourceBergen is one of the largest global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services companies, helping both healthcare providers and pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers improve patient access to products and enhance patient care. With services ranging from drug distribution and niche premium logistics to reimbursement and pharmaceutical consulting services, AmerisourceBergen delivers innovative programs and solutions across the pharmaceutical supply channel in human and animal health. With over $135 billion in annual revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, and employs approximately 18,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #12 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go to www.amerisourcebergen.com.

About Xcenda
Xcenda is a strategic consulting firm with more than 20 years of experience applying real-world expertise in health economics and outcomes research, reimbursement, health policy, market research, and market access strategy. As part of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a leading global healthcare solutions company, Xcenda supports global pharmaceutical companies as well as emerging pre-commercialization phase firms with challenges such as developing an evidence package to optimize access in key global markets, predicting product performance, and identifying reimbursement strategies and programs to maximize patient access. From development through market maturity, Xcenda helps manufacturers identify, demonstrate, and deliver their brand’s value proposition to key healthcare stakeholders. For more information visit www.xcenda.com.