Comparative Effectiveness Research Activities Managed by Dedicated Groups at 50% of Surveyed Global Level Pharma Teams, According to Cutting Edge Information

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwired - July 29, 2015) - The strained healthcare system and an increasingly crowded marketplace make comparative effectiveness research (CER) more important than ever for the life sciences industry. According to new research from pharmaceutical intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information, 50% of surveyed companies at the global level have instituted dedicated health economics and outcomes research (HEOR)/CER groups to coordinate and support CER activities from a multinational perspective.

According to Comparative Effectiveness Research: Value Stories that Engage Patients, Physicians and Payers, medical affairs teams are responsible for CER management at 33% of surveyed global level groups and market access is the responsible party at 17%. Dedicated country-level groups are slightly less common (43%). Forty-three percent of country-level groups have ad hoc teams managing CER and 14% leave this responsibility to market access teams.

"Comparative effectiveness activities present a unique challenge for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, regardless of the responsible team and structure," said Jacob Presson, report author and senior research analyst at Cutting Edge Information. "Research is often conducted on both sides of the clinical/commercial firewall, and coordinating these activities requires extensive cross-functional communication."

Comparative effectiveness research generally falls into two broad categories: pre-launch and post-launch. Some studies are conducted before product launch with comparators and/or standards of care based on the projected market landscape. Then, after launch, studies are conducted -- often by commercial groups such as managed markets or dedicated health economics departments -- using electronic medical records (EMRs) or post-launch studies. Coordinating these activities effectively is a challenge for many companies, especially for products that are expected to provide extensive supporting data because of their therapeutic area or high cost.

"Comparative Effectiveness Research: Value Stories that Engage Patients, Physicians and Payers," available at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/market-access/comparative-effectiveness-research/, provides metrics on the cost and duration of comparative effectiveness studies, as well as how to best deliver this data to external stakeholders. The report examines the changing priorities with regards to conducting comparative effectiveness research in the US. Highlights include:

• Benchmarking data showing total comparative effectiveness spending and CER spending per product from 2013 to 2015
• Top executives' strategic recommendations for delivering CER data to payers -- and using health outcomes liaisons to supplement managed markets account managers' efforts
• Data showing the amount of time spent discussing CER with payers

For more information about "Comparative Effectiveness Research: Value Stories that Engage Patients, Physicians and Payers," and other health economics related topics, please download the report summary at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/download/?ref=31046.