MedAdvisor seeks ‘multidimensional’ US approach via deal with Adheris Health
Adheris Health will promote and jointly sell MedAdvisor-powered digital adherence programs in the US to its existing pharmaceutical clients as an extension of its suite of patient performance solutions.
Digital medication management company MedAdvisor (ASX: MDR) has unveiled a bid to expand its US market presence by signing a 12-month digital partnership agreement with Adheris Health, a growing US-based provider of dynamic patient adherence and engagement solutions.
As a product, MedAdvisor is a medication management platform available free on mobile and internet devices. The platform incorporates a variety of features including reminders and pre-ordering of medications, thereby improving adherence to chronic medications by around 20%.
Its effectiveness for patients is highly valued and has therefore induced commercial offers from both Asia and the US.
The ASX-listed company declared that its timely investment in globalising its product platform over the past six months was “crucial” in enabling it to enter this partnership and to support the sophisticated requirements of US-centric medication adherence and engagement programs.
Adheris president Michael Skovira said that bringing together Adheris’ extensive reach and deep adherence knowledge with MedAdvisor’s digital offering, would create a “better patient experience at scale”.
“By adding this innovative digital capability to our suite of dynamic patient performance solutions, we’ll have the ability to provide customers with even more opportunities to influence positive patient behaviour and drive improved outcomes,” he said.
Partnering with a US giant
The newly-forged partnership is expected to offer extended digital adherence programs to Adheris’ pharmaceutical clients across its retail pharmacy network.
Adheris currently reaches almost 200 million patients on behalf of more than 26,000 pharmacies and serves one of the largest networks for patient and prescriber access in the US. The company confirmed that it currently has around 295,000 prescribers and direct access to 2.2 billion prescriptions per year.
On a corporate level, Adheris forms part of Nasdaq-listed Syneos Health, a US$7 billion (A$9.8 billion) company that provides integrated clinical and commercial solutions to biopharmaceutical customers globally.
According to MedAdvisor, the deal will help Adheris to expand the range of services it is able to offer and to optimise the delivery of services it already provides.
In essence, the partnership means Adheris will have the chance to improve its data insights and analytics solutions – and possibly most importantly – create an ability to communicate with varying patient types as they receive medical care. Patients will be monitored via a “proprietary data-driven platform throughout their individual patient journeys” in the doctor’s office, at the pharmacy and in their home.
The initial 12-month digital partnership agreement announced today focuses on extending Adheris’ current suite of adherence and engagement solutions to include SMS and web-based offerings powered by MedAdvisor.
According to the Australian company, it has received growing interest from the US pharmaceutical market to increase their reach through digital channels with the partnership announced today expected to generate revenue as early as Q3 2019.
“By targeting patients at the intersections of care with unique, dynamic, adaptable programs, patients receive the comprehensive support required to continue with therapy, resulting in improved success for all stakeholders – patients, providers and brands,” the company said.
Global expansion
MedAdvisor expects to derive revenue in a similar way to Australia for Patient Engagement Programs, currently sold to large pharmaceutical companies across Australia. MedAdvisor said it will charge a set-up fee and a “per patient fee” relating to the size and complexity of the campaign.
“We have been working toward this moment for the past six months. Aside from investing in business development in the US, we have significantly evolved our Australian product into a global product that meets ISO27001 security standard and US HIPAA regulations,” said Robert Read, chief executive officer of MedAdvisor.
The deal with Adheris represents a timely move into the US with a parallel deal already set up to capitalise on the comparable market in Asia.
Late last year, the medical company signed a joint venture with healthcare services giant Zuellig Pharma to launch its smartphone medication management application to a market of over 560 million people in Asia.
According to MedAdvisor president Keith Kiarsis, this partnership will allow the company “to combine our market-leading digital capabilities with Adheris’ impressive network scale and extensive patient performance and clinical program design expertise.”
“The resulting combination will be an unmatched multidimensional approach to patient support in the US, a market more than 10 times the size of Australia,” he said.
News of the partnership with Adheris had an immediate impact on MedAdvisor shares which rose 12% to $0.046 in mid afternoon trade.