The Access Group: 2016

The Access Group

400 Connell Drive, 2nd floor

Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922

Phone: 908.508.6700

Website: theaccessgp.com

As managing partner Seth Gordon often says, “There isn’t a managed markets or reimbursement scenario we haven’t seen, based on our large experiential set.” Network leaders say that confidence is backed not only by past successes, but also by current differentiators at The Access Group that make a real difference for its clients: the substantial experience of its personnel, a broad understanding of evolving market dynamics, and the seamless integration of network resources, including an array of strategic, creative, and tactical solutions.

The year’s accomplishments

According to network CEO Eric Bishea, 2015 was one of the most successful years in the network’s history. The Access Group added 13 new accounts and experienced a 48 percent increase in revenue.

FronTier Managed Markets and Bioeclipse, the two full-service entity launches in 2014, continued their impressive growth, adding new agency-of-record assignments and specialized staff to keep pace with the demands of an expanding client base, executives say. Mike Webster, managing partner and Bioeclipse lead, says, “Our forward-looking approach to payer marketing solutions continues to focus on specialty pharma, orphan drugs, and transformative medicines. These will change clinical practice or provide curative-like results for high-unmet-need therapeutic categories.”

Promidian, the network’s management consulting division, saw significant growth in 2015 as well, executives say. With offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and now Boston, Promidian is well positioned, strategically and geographically, to meet and exceed the ever-evolving needs of leading biopharma companies, according to network leaders.

Leveraging the training expertise and growing digital prowess of the network, MedAccess highlighted 2015 with not only a 85 percent increase in revenue, but also with an innovative and interactive approach to addressing the evolving needs of its clientele, network leaders say. “Kythera Biopharmaceuticals presented us with a unique challenge: to effectively and efficiently shorten the learning curve on proper technique and patient identification,” says Leana Wood, managing partner and MedAccess lead. “And we delivered, with an industry-leading online training system and physician resource portal that really set us apart from other medical communications agencies.”

Additionally, Obagi looked to MedAccess and its team of specialists to create a suite of turnkey digital tools to enhance education and engagement. As one of several executives with client-side experience, Wood acknowledges that, “Having in-house experience really gives you a competitive edge, because you’ve been there yourself and can add real value.”

The Access Group continues to be acknowledged as a leader in the industry, executives say. For the third year in a row, the Access Group was recognized by a major national industry publication in its top 100 agencies list. Additionally, the network won several awards for its creative work.

To keep up with this unprecedented pace, The Access Group has added some industry leaders in key management positions across the network, including award-winning creative talent, established client services directors, and several content and clinical experts with advanced and professional degrees.

Structure and services

“We can talk about achievements and accolades, but the thing that really sets The Access Group apart is our people. Our team has got to be one of the most experienced in the industry,” Bishea says, highlighting the network’s 130-plus healthcare marketing specialists, consultants, award-winning creatives, and senior leaders with experience in management consulting, brand promotion, marketing communications, managed markets, medical education, and training.

With such expertise, The Access Group offers a broad and robust understanding of evolving market dynamics, executives say. “Our work is shifting from a product-specific perspective to a broader portfolio partnership approach,” says Chris Abtahi, entity lead at Catalyst. “Our managed markets advisors are requesting broader partnership support and resources; we are working with our clients to develop programs and tools that move account management teams beyond transactional discussions and toward population health management solutions.”

Executives believe that, as a leading independent strategic healthcare communications network, this level of agile involvement and partnership is crucial to success. The seamless integration of network resources drives a robust array of strategic, creative, and tactical solutions, network leaders say.

The Access Group is composed of five distinct entities – Bioeclipse, Catalyst, FronTier Managed Markets, MedAccess, and Promidian – as well as four specialized service groups – S³ (Strategic Selling Solutions), Government│Policy│Systems (GPS), the Oncology Business Unit, and StrataMed. Headquartered in Berkeley Heights, N.J., The Access Group has offices covering the country in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Future plans

With sustained momentum from a successful 2015 and new opportunities to take advantage of evolving market dynamics, the future looks very bright for The Access Group, executives say. In fact, the network just announced the launch of its Oncology Business Unit.

The creation of the Oncology Business Unit was inspired by clients’ need for dedicated oncology expertise in an increasingly evolving and complex therapeutic space, executives say. “As part of our commitment to delivering value for our clients, we develop solutions that address their most pressing commercialization challenges and business needs,” says Jeff Gruenglas, executive VP and Oncology Business Unit lead. “The creation of a dedicated oncology unit aggregates the decades of collective marketing and clinical practices of our accomplished team across solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and genomics, including immunotherapies and companion diagnostics. This enables us to extend our clients’ access to novel approaches to insight discovery, industry experts, and truly measurable solutions.”

“The Oncology Business Unit is a natural progression of The Access Group model of delivering value to our clients,” Bishea says. “The number of oncology initiatives from our client base has grown rapidly, resulting in our organization investing in and expanding our capabilities and resources. It is an exciting time to see so many new and promising compounds, and The Access Group is helping translate the value of these new developments in a way that will resonate with all stakeholders.”

Additionally, The Access Group’s GPS division has expanded its expertise and offerings as a result of increasing customer demands, executives say. GPS provides programs that address policy landscape assessments, treatment adherence programs, the impact of MACRA, and population health programs. According to network leaders, GPS will continue to offer solutions to help clients navigate long-term care and the organized customer, as well as to help clients get ahead of today’s trends. To help keep the network and its clients in the know, the Clinical and GPS teams at The Access Group have produced more than 500 publications, with an average of four articles published each month, in addition to regular columns and textbook chapters, executives say.

According to network leaders, The Access Group’s future growth will continue to emphasize service alignment and cross-company offerings to further demonstrate the value of a network that supports “all-in-one” brand strategy and management consulting, marketing, selling solutions, medical communication, and professional promotion services. This integration across complementary business entities to provide holistic brand support is what differentiates The Access Group from traditional network agencies, executives say.

Philanthropy/citizenship

The Access Group is “going gold” in 2016 and joining the fight against pediatric cancer, executive say. Working with the Go4theGoal Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps children affected by cancer reach their goals and funds cutting-edge research to find a cure, The Access Group is taking a focused approach to philanthropy. “We are streamlining our charitable involvement and using our creative and strategic assets to raise awareness, advocacy, and hope,” said Jessica Kalbach, senior VP, operations. With company-wide events throughout the year, everyone in the network will have a chance to collaborate, create, and make a difference that goes beyond just financial contributions, executives say.