Purpose-driven: Getting critical medication to a child in need

Putting people first is part of how we live our purpose. For these two AmerisourceBergen associates, it meant getting a critical medication to a young cancer patient.

When Xcenda was founded 25 years ago, pharmaceutical-led healthcare looked quite different than it does today. The industry was tackling chronic conditions with traditional oral medications, and the average cost of therapy was $1-2 dollars per day.1 Although rising healthcare costs were a concern back then, product utilization was largely based on clinical features and benefits. The question of cost was in the background. But, as the pharma world has now come to expect from Xcenda, we had a hunch it wouldn’t stay that way—and we were right.

“We founded Xcenda with the vision that the healthcare conversation would ultimately shift to one focused on the value of different medical and pharmaceutical interventions. From the onset, we wanted to lend our expertise to help our clients tell their best data-driven
value story.”

Kristine Flemister, President, Xcenda

The secrets to our success

For more than two decades, Xcenda has focused on conducting rigorous, credible health economics and outcomes research that can be used by various stakeholders (MCOs, employers and pharma) to make informed healthcare decisions that consider the clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes of a product.

Our formula has always been consistent:

Knowledge

We are respected leaders in understanding and demonstrating value. We were founded on the application of health outcomes and reimbursement to help clients understand and strongly demonstrate their best value story. Today, as a global market access partner, we apply our experience, market intelligence and multidisciplinary expertise to efficiently develop and deliver brand distinction.

Ingenuity

We are innovative problem solvers, continually driven to find out why. Xcenda’s smart, passionate and determined associates create fresh, empowering solutions for pharma, payers, providers and patients. We never stop evolving to ensure we help our clients stay ahead of the value curve in this complex healthcare market.

Execution

We develop a thorough plan—and pull it through with excellence. We go beyond gathering evidence and applying insights to inform strategic recommendations. We deliver practical solutions and quality tactics that “move the needle” in product access, often through innovative technology and techniques to make it easier to do business with us and advance the market access discipline.

Innovations and accomplishments

Xcenda has always been an innovator, a company of "firsts" in many areas. We conducted and published some of the first real-world data studies in many disease areas—before "real-world data" became an industry term. We originated the development of transparent economics/forecast models. And Xcenda created the first outcomes analyzer, a digital tool that allows plans to evaluate outcomes in their plan populations using their own claims data.

We have also been on the forefront of medical communications, creating some of the first formulary dossiers in the U.S. and globally. And as continual advocates for patients, we pioneered the field teams that help providers overcome reimbursement obstacles and break down access barriers.

Raising the bar for HEOR

Not only is it important to Xcenda's leadership to make sure data is generated through credible scientific methods, but it is also critical to convey findings in a way that business leaders can understand. Delivering a data-driven story in a way that is clear and resonates with decision-makers continues to be paramount to the Xcenda experience.

It's our commitment to continuous improvement that will propel us forward for the next 25 years—and beyond. Our goal is to move the industry toward more cost-effective healthcare—to solve problems faced by patients, providers and stakeholders across our industry.

"We always have our eye on the evolving healthcare market. During our 25th anniversary year, we'll be exploring exciting new ways to address some of our industry's most pressing challenges."

Matt Sarnes, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy, Xcenda

Focused on the future

A number of industry dynamics deserve our attention, from the continuing shift in healthcare consumerism to rising patient out-of-pocket expenses. We know the pharmaceutical industry is also heavily impacted by the ever-growing data pool and the need to understand that data, as well as the growing appetite for digital tools across healthcare.

All of these issues are in addition to the continued importance of clearly defining product value. As a result, we’ve embarked on creating several solutions that help move the industry forward to overcome challenges that include:

Digital collaboration across various stakeholders within a life sciences company
Data quality and information exchange for formulary decision-making
Concise clinical and disease state education for payers on products coming to market
Collaboration with payers to define and deliver appropriate clinical end points
Reimbursement-related financial risks for physician practices
Financial exposure planning with real-time data for patient assistance program needs

We will be releasing several new innovations over the coming months that address key industry challenges.

Xcenda has built our business on routinely helping manufacturers align on a data-driven value proposition and develop a plan to prove and evolve that value proposition over the life of a product. As we look to the future of the industry and our business, we’ll be looking to advance our original goal of making the ongoing exchange of credible health economics information for the sake of proving value and maximizing patient access a reality.

Stay up to date on the latest innovations and insights at xcenda.com

1. DiMasi, J. Price Trends for Prescription Pharmaceuticals: 1995-1999. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. 8 August 2000. Accessed 28 March 2019. Available online at https://aspe.hhs.gov/price-trends-prescription-pharmaceuticals-1995-1999

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