Market Access

In the final part of his Pharma Commerce video interview, Ed Schoonveld, value and access advisor for Schoonveld Advisory and author of The Price of Global Health, previews his December column, exploring US price-referencing guidance, its impact on innovation, and whether this marks the beginning of broader pricing controls.

In the second part of his Pharma Commerce video interview, Ed Schoonveld, value and access advisor for Schoonveld Advisory and author of The Price of Global Health, notes that while non-transferability could hinder smaller biotechs partnering late with pharma, most alliances are already in place before vouchers become relevant.

In the first part of his Pharma Commerce video interview, Ed Schoonveld, value and access advisor for Schoonveld Advisory and author of The Price of Global Health, explains that affordability is only one pathway to securing a voucher—and reducing list prices isn’t the only way to demonstrate value.

The agreement includes exemptions for UK-produced drugs and medical devices from Section 232 tariffs, but mandates a significant change to the UK's NICE value appraisal framework.

From billions in drug savings and more, we present to you today’s Pharma Pulse.

The Trump administration has announced new negotiated Medicare prices for a second wave of blockbuster treatments, yielding an estimated $12 billion in savings for 2027, when compared to Medicare’s 2024 net spending.

As the federal government prepares to release newly negotiated Medicare drug prices, weight-loss blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy remain in the spotlight, while CMS advances a model to cut Medicaid spending and broaden access to affordable treatments.

When intelligence flows across clinical, access, and engagement channels, commercialization shifts from reactive to predictive, giving teams the real-time edge to win in a fast-moving market.

The company is launching new self-pay pricing options, expanded savings programs, and partnerships with telehealth and retail providers. all while its obesity portfolio gains momentum under the FDA’s National Priority Voucher program.

The nationally licensed pharmacy network now supports Ethereum, Solana, and XRP across all retail locations, marking a major step toward faster, more transparent payments—and laying the groundwork for a blockchain-based prescription drug payment system.

As FDA fast-tracks GLP-1 treatments under its new pilot National Priority Voucher program, WeightWatchers prepares to position itself to compete in the fast-evolving weight-loss drug market driven by affordability and accessibility.

Launching next year, the new CMS Innovation Center initiative—known as the GENEROUS Model—aims to align Medicaid drug prices with global standards, reduce prescription spending, and strengthen the program’s long-term sustainability through fairer state purchasing and transparent pricing rules.

Lilly announced a new agreement with the Trump administration to expand access to its GLP-1 therapies, including Zepbound and orforglipron, offering the drugs to Medicare beneficiaries for $50 per month and through Medicaid programs starting in 2026.

Pharma’s push into direct-to-patient sales is reshaping the front end of drug distribution, but wholesalers like Cencora, McKesson, and Cardinal Health remain indispensable as the backbone of the industry’s regulated, specialty, and logistics infrastructure.

As the three models converge, expect a bigger role for sales reps, minimal impact on incentive compensation, and a boon to the healthcare system.

At HLTH 2025, the entrepreneur announced a collaboration between Cost Plus Drugs and President Trump’s TrumpRx platform aimed at improving transparency, reducing drug costs, and reshaping how Americans access their prescriptions.

Aetna, Devoted Health, and UnitedHealth headline the list best Medicare Advantage insurers for next year, while Centene and Humana lead the pack in Part D prescription drug coverage.

A planned 100% tariff on branded and patented drugs from Singapore is being postponed as US and Singapore officials explore potential exemptions.

The appellate court upheld Medicare’s authority to negotiate lower drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act, following similar rulings against AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Novartis.

Amid intensified competition—and evolving IRA and PBM dynamics—leaders in the access space must now adopt a strategist mindset.

Marketed as cost-saving tools, AFPs can also strain safety-net resources.

From patent cliffs and government price controls, to self-pay models and staff-model HMOs, a look at the forces that could deflate the bubble—and those factors likely to keep it afloat a while longer.

Amid pressures on pharma to match the lowest international prices, experts warn of “policy laundering” and discriminatory impact.

This episode of Pharma Pulse covers ATA’s warning that telehealth protections are critical to maintaining care access during a potential federal shutdown, new KFF data showing the rapid rise of Medicare Advantage special needs plans, and Halozyme’s $750 million acquisition of Elektrofi to expand its drug delivery portfolio.

This episode of Pharma Pulse covers the Trump administration’s plan to launch a government-run healthcare website for patients, new data showing gabapentin has become the fifth most prescribed drug in community pharmacies, and promising trial results from a novel gene therapy that slows the progression of Huntington’s disease.