KAM Key to Switching to Payer Led Market Focus, Says Survey

A survey on European market access trends, conducted by Cegedim Relationship Management, says the most challenging factor in the pharma industry is switching focus on marketing to the payer rather than the prescriber.

The report, Market Access in Europe 2011, is the second annual survey of life sciences executives in Europe giving their views on the challenges and benefits to market access.

The survey concluded that Key Account Management (KAM) was the technique that procured the best results for market access strategies. To combat the challenges of the current economic climate the survey revealed that 76% of respondents would implement KAM strategies.

Of the participants, 72% reported that their business has altered its strategy and messaging to demonstrate return on investment (ROI) to health providers. However, only 53% of participants have started to deal with education about the benefits of lifestyle changes, down from 64% in 2010. 85% believed that having a better understanding of stakeholder relationships would improve market access strategy. Greater information sharing scored 78% and developing specialized teams or KAM scored 81%.

Stefan Janssens, Cegedim's President, Europe, said: "The survey results point to the need for accurate and up-to-date customer data and software solutions that promote efficient account management and cross-team collaboration."

The survey shows that 87% of European life sciences executives believe it is substantial to support market strategy changes. Of those questioned, 74% were optimistic in that they had sufficient funding to finance market access during 2011–2012.