Covance Acquires Medaxial For Its Value Communication Solutions
By Cyndi Root
Covance announced in a press release that it acquired Medaxial, a value communication firm. The acquisition positions Covance to provide value communication solutions to its clients from early stage drug development through to clinical trials, regulatory approval, and commercialization. Medaxial uses data to help communicate a product’s value, which will help Covance in its market access and reimbursement niche.
Marc Ginsky, VP and General Manager of Covance Market Access said, "Proactive and effective communication of clinical and economic value is critical to help clients navigate an increasingly complex drug development and payment landscape, as they strive to provide innovative medical products to patients."
Covance and Medaxial Deal
Covance currently offers market access and reimbursement services from its offices in Gaithersburg, MD, Greenfield, IN, San Diego, CA, and Sydney, Australia. With Medaxial’s offices in London, New York, and Antwerp, Belgium, Covance is positioned to serve clients on a more global scale.
Paul Mcloughlin, co-founder and Director of Technology and Design at Medaxial commented that the scale will be worldwide, but clients would have access to local expertise. Mcloughlin and John Fanshawe, fellow co-founder of Medaxial, will continue with the company after the acquisition.
Market Access and Reimbursement
Market access and reimbursement is a growing sector in the pharmaceutical business. Companies offering this business sector aim to help clients understand provider and patient needs, crafting multiple stories that target different audiences and drive sales. These types of companies can also manage contracts and monitor reimbursement. Additionally, services are available to help retain patients after the hard work of recruiting them.
One type of service that helps clients to maximize value is management of contract terms and payments. Overseeing contracts allows the client to gain more market share by improving transparency in contract performance. For instance, chargebacks and rebates are counted as gross sales and account for up to 20 percent of U.S. gross sales, approximately $50 billion a year, according to Covance. Improper control of reimbursement may cause loss of revenue and regulatory penalties. Covance began offering managed markets services in the fall of 2013.
Value Communication Services
To optimize a drug’s market share, market access companies like Covance need information in order to construct a story, or a brand. Medaxial has expertise in data mining and optimization. Using data and health economic modeling, value communication companies, like Medaxial, aim to provide a better picture of a drug’s value offering. With insights from data, market access companies can communicate product value to providers, patients, and investors.