Dedicated Pricing Teams Growing More Prevalent for Pharma

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Outside of the largest pharmaceutical companies, no more than 50% of drug manufacturers have dedicated pricing and reimbursement teams in place. But that percentage is growing, according to a benchmarking study by Cutting Edge Information.

“A formal team increases communication, ensuring that pricing decisions are made carefully and thoughtfully, rather than late in the launch process.”

The study, “Pharmaceutical Pricing Strategy: Maximize Revenue in an Evolving Economic Climate,” finds that all top 25 companies surveyed currently have pricing teams in place. The data also show that 50% or less of top 50, small pharmaceutical and medical device companies have dedicated pricing and reimbursement teams. Among all surveyed companies, dedicated pricing teams are relatively new – whereas a few have had dedicated teams established for five to 15 years, the average age of these teams is 4.3 years.

“A dedicated team not only raises the pricing team’s profile, but clearly, its presence also carries benefits that affect the bottom line,” said Michelle Vitko, senior research analyst at Cutting Edge Information. “A formal team increases communication, ensuring that pricing decisions are made carefully and thoughtfully, rather than late in the launch process.”

According to interviewed executives, the key reasons for implementing a structured pricing team include streamlining communication and maximize profit. Prior to implementing a dedicated pricing team, one pricing manager found complications caused by lack of communication for critical pricing decisions between countries. In these cases, the right stakeholders were not always informed of prices set in other countries. Because a low price in one country often leads to low reference prices elsewhere, it is crucial that companies have streamlined processes to avoid problems and protect product value.

“Having a dedicated pricing team aware that is held accountable for pricing activity at the affiliate level is critical to avoiding problems and ensuring that a product receives the best price,” Vitko said.

The report (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/market-access/pricing-reimbursement/) analyzes pricing team structure, resources and best practices while exploring major global trends impacting pharmaceutical pricing strategy. The study will enable decision-makers to:

• Build a global strategy to incorporate the “big picture” into pricing, connecting all markets.
• Navigate a complex global network of agencies, government payers and other customers.
• Explore benchmarks, processes and opinions from teams that get the prices they want.
• Track pricing ROI by balancing revenue metrics against intangible measures.

For more information on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement, contact Stephanie Swanson at [phone] or [e-mail].