Market Access Blog

MAP Market Access Blog

What is Health Economics?

Published 22nd November 2021

This blog discusses what Health Economics is, what Health Economists do and the Health Economic Evaluation (HEE).

Defining a role for policy and public affairs in patient engagement

Published 11th November 2021

Pharmaceutical companies and NICE should consider early patient engagement for health technology appraisals, as discussed at the MAP Patient Conference.

Quality-adjusted life years – what is a QALY and why should we care?

Published 20th October 2021

The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) has been an area of great confusion and misunderstanding in the past years. People find the QALY hard to interpret, but put simply, QALYs are a useful way of comparing the value of one medical intervention to another.

The role of study perspective in health economic evaluation

Member experience project

Published 13th October 2021

Earlier this year, the MAP team undertook an internal project, exploring the views and experiences of our members of using MAP Online. We used qualitative research methods to gain a better understanding of how our members currently use our products to inform our company’s future vision and growth.

The role of study perspective in health economic evaluation

Published 25th August 2021

This blog answers the question, what is economic evaluation and why is it important?

Latest market access trends in Italy: A shift away from economic modelling in favour of a focus on clinical benefit

Published 16th August 2021

Earlier this year, the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) adopted new guidelines relating to pricing and reimbursement in Italy. In this blog we give an overview of the recent changes and provide insight on what this means for companies looking to launch in Italy.

An introduction to MAP’s Policy & Public Affairs team

Published 27th July 2021

Strategic policy and public affairs activity can shape the environment for your company or product. It will address potential challenges or developments that may have an impact on patient access. This blog introduces you to our expert PPA team and highlights how they can support your market access journey.

Market access in China: tackling challenges in a changing environment

Published 13th July 2021

A complex system of shared responsibilities between government bodies and frequent changes to the legislative environment due to ongoing healthcare reforms make China a challenging region for achieving market access. However, the reforms also give reason for optimism that China will shift from an opaque system to a transparent and predictable direction that can be more easily navigated by pharmaceutical companies launching new products in the region.

How do the BeNeLuxA and FINOSE collaborations compare?

Published 5th July 2021

The FINOSE collaboration in the Nordic countries and the BeNeLuxA Initiative (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and most recently, Ireland) were launched in order speed up patient access to treatments and reduce inefficiencies in the routes to market access. In our latest blog, MAP look at how these collaborations differ in terms of how they operate, and what benefits they offer for the pharmaceutical industry and patients.

The future of Market Access for MedTech in the UK

Published 27th May 2021

Market access for drugs is a relatively well-established pathway, however, market access for devices, diagnostics, digital technologies is much more opaque with no clearly defined pathways. However, several positive developments are close to fruition.

Focus on Ireland: HTA timeframes and reimbursement

Published 5th May 2021

One of the biggest challenges of Market Access in Ireland is the unpredictable timeframe of the HTA process and delays in funding due to a very limited government drug budget.
To help our members understand the real-world timeframes between the initial rapid review submission and reimbursement, and for the various stages of the full HTA process, the MAP Online team conducted a pilot study of 12 drugs which have completed a National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) appraisal and have been reimbursed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) between 2019 and 2021.

Put your Market Access knowledge to the test with MAP Academy

Published 15th April 2021

MAP Academy is a free training resource for Market Access practitioners. Newcomers and experienced professionals can both benefit. Its relevant for anyone who wants to check and refresh their knowledge of key topics.

Impact of Brexit on the regulatory approval process for medicines in the UK

Published 12th March 2021

The end of the transition period marks the end of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s participation in the European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s centralised procedure.
MAP BioPharma has published a guidance note with N-Site to examine some of these initiatives and their potential impacts and assess whether they might be sufficient to ensure the UK remains a fostering environment after Brexit.

Reforming the NHS structure again

Published 9th February 2021

In November 2020 NHS England and NHS Improvement published proposals on integrating health and social care, with legislation to give effect to this by April 2022. Now another major reorganisation of the NHS in England is under consideration by the government.

It is understood that this has now turned into a draft White Paper, likely to be published later this year, with very wide implications.

Systematic literature reviews for a robust market access strategy

The new UK Rare Diseases Framework – a cause for optimism?

Published 25th January 2021

Like many others in the rare disease community MAP welcomed the publication in early January of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. This month’s blog deliberates the considerable optimism surrounding this framework with regards to its ambitions to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases.

Systematic literature reviews for a robust market access strategy

Published 15th December 2020

Systematic literature reviews can be valuable sources of tailored information for market access submissions, but they can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, this month’s blog discusses their timing as part of the market access strategy plan in order to use the reviews to their greatest potential.

November NICE methods review consultation

Published 18th November 2020

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has launched a public consultation on proposals for changes to the methods it uses to develop its guidance on medicines, medical devices and diagnostics. Read our latest blog post that summarises the key themes and proposed changes.

The power of storytelling in health technology appraisals: writing beyond scientific data

Published 9th October 2020

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool to support comprehension in diverse scenarios, including for market access purposes. Find out more about how this technique can boost writing in HTA submissions in this blog post.

The fundamentals of health economics and outcomes research: a (very) short overview

Published 28th July 2020

Our recent webinar explored the fundamentals of health economics and outcomes research including economic modelling and evidence synthesis. This short blog introduces you to these key elements in order to provide you with an overview of this exciting field.

MAP Online version 4 launches with improved user experience and new features

Published 30th June 2020

MAP BioPharma are excited to launch the latest improved version of MAP Online. This essential Market Access resource has been transformed to provide an improved user experience in response to our member needs and interests.

Coronavirus – Challenges for Pharma & MedTech Companies in the UK, Germany & EU

Published 3rd June 2020

COVID-19 represents an unprecedented challenge for global health systems in modern history. The implications are wide-ranging and include: Legal e.g. incentives review, policies, directives and postponement of legislation; EMA guidance on clinical trials; Shortages of medicines; counterfeit medicines; EMA priorities; and National measures. This blog outlines these implications and describes how to adapt to the new normal and proposes some solutions.

UK Pricing of Branded Medicines: Getting (And Raising) Your Price Right

Published 26th May 2020

The UK is an attractive market for branded medicines. In this blog, we outline the UK pricing system and explain the “do's and dont's” of the price application process, whether you apply for the first time or seek a price rise. We also detail what to do when the price proposed by UK authorities is not what you hoped for and how to overcome this.

Improving access to orphan medicines and collaboration

Published 28th April 2020

MAP’s work on orphan medicines, supported by a number of MAP Online members, has allowed us to highlight systemic issues that affect a range of rare disease medicines. In our latest blog post, Tessa Hughes, Head of Policy and Public Affairs details how working together has been instrumental in making meaningful change.

MAP BioPharma Ireland

Published 31st March 2020

Last year Santé Strategy joined the MAP group and provides consultancy services in the Irish Healthcare sector focusing on strategic planning, market access and stakeholder engagement. Meet Brian Gavin and Declan Kinahan in our latest blog post and find out how they can help you launch your products to the Irish market.

What is stakeholder engagement and why is it important?

Published 31st October 2019

There are a number of policy issues that can arise for pharmaceutical products, medicines and medical devices that can stop patients getting timely access to them. Building relationships with stakeholders can help break down those barriers and accelerate the patient’s access to new products. Aryan Asaadi, Associate Consultant at MAP BioPharma, has been speaking to some of the MAP team to understand the importance of these relationships.

An insight into issues around rare diseases: An interview with Christian Hill

Published 31st July 2019

There are around 6–8,000 rare diseases affecting 5 or fewer people in 10,000. In the UK, around 25,000 people have any given rare disease. Aryan Asaadi, Associate Consultant at MAP BioPharma, has been speaking to Christian Hill, CEO of MAP BioPharma, to get his insight on the issues around rare diseases.