Policy has always influenced how the biopharmaceutical industry communicates the value of its medicines. However, today’s value communicators must be more agile than ever. In the past two weeks alone, the White House has made announcements on TrumpRX, pricing deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and delayed pharmaceutical tariffs—and this doesn’t account for ongoing policy around the Medicare drug price negotiation program, much less how the government shutdown is affecting the FDA, CMS, etc. The policy ground is shifting quickly under our feet and forcing industry to respond in real-time.
For years, value communicators have helped companies shape the value conversation at the product, portfolio, corporate, and societal levels. Successful value communications efforts tell a compelling story about the benefit of innovation to patients, foster alignment among stakeholders, and show how companies are working to bring potentially life-changing medicines to those who need them most. Given the new administration’s focus on an “America First” economy, combined with an uncertain policy landscape, communicators now face an additional task—demonstrating how they are part of the solution when it comes to not just pricing and access, but also to how they are delivering economic value for the country.
As value communicators navigate this shifting environment and continue to reinforce their messages with policymakers and consumers, they should ask themselves the following questions:
1. Is my messaging focused on access? Ultimately, conversations around price are about patient access, and companies need to reinforce how they are proactively expanding access. Communicators should capture the breadth of access levers their companies are pursuing, including direct-to-consumer initiatives, patient access programs that help defray out-of-pocket costs, navigation services that help patients move through a complex system to obtain the treatments they need, and innovative payer contracts that drive outcomes or value for patients and the health system at large. Our health care access system is complicated; telling the story of what it actually takes to get medicine to the patient who needs it can help humanize the industry.
2. Am I losing the conversation to list price when there is a net price story to tell? Most stakeholders (policymakers and reporters included) report on list price because it’s easy to find and easy to cite. But that only tells part of the story when it comes to the economics of prescription drugs. Some companies have opted to announce net prices, launch products with a direct-to-consumer price, be transparent about average rebates, or respond to government-set price announcements. When possible, and for the purposes of policymaker or consumer communications, companies should make these net (or government-set) prices the focal point of their messaging. This approach can help further conversations and awareness around payer negotiation dynamics, the role of other supply chain entities, whether and how rebated amounts are returned to patients, direct-to-consumer offerings, and what real-world costs for patients actually look like.
3. How can I underscore the value of a medicine or portfolio to the economy? Medicines provide value by delivering better clinical outcomes and by building an economic footprint. And the pharmaceutical industry has always heavily invested in the U.S. Individual companies should amplify their own contributions by highlighting: the federal, state, and local impact of their products’ manufacturing supply chain; the number of jobs supported at plants, clinical trial sites, and partner facilities; whether active pharmaceutical ingredients were sourced domestically; and if any manufacturing was onshored, etc. By sharing this information, policymakers may see the economic engines that support the production of our medicines, making the value story more tangible.
4. Is it possible to take this value story local? While the White House will be focused on the big picture, most politicians are thinking about policy at the state or local level. Communicators need to translate the national policy debate into the value they are providing at a district or state level. That means having tailored messaging that underscores clinical trial programs at medical centers or local clinics, patient testimonials from people in the community who have benefited from access or navigation programs, jobs created across the supply chain, etc. Being able to show connection to constituents can make national issues personally salient, and influence is dynamic, meaning local engagement can bubble up to shift a national policy conversation.
To connect with policymakers and consumers, value communications need to move beyond addressing the ongoing issues of access and price. For decades, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry has been a driving force of innovation, but as it has become a political bargaining chip on both sides of the aisle, its role as a driver of the U.S. economy has been overlooked. The companies that succeed in reinforcing this perspective will be able to tell a comprehensive value story for their products—one that shows benefit to patients, health care systems, communities, and the U.S. economy. The time to tell that story is now.