PRECISIONvalue: 2021

PRECISIONvalue

240 Main Street

Gladstone, NJ 07934

Telephone 

908-470-1780

E-mail 

[email protected]

Website 

precisionvalue.com

 

QUICK FACTS

Accounts

Account wins 14

Active business clients 39

Brands by 2020 sales

Brand-product accounts held 170

 

SERVICES MIX

Managed markets marketing 100%

 

2020 was a challenging year for all, to say the least, but PREVISIONvalue’s leaders say the inspiring flexibility, dedication, and collegial spirit of the agency’s employees have allowed it to continue to thrive and provide life science customers with industry-leading services and expertise, even in the midst of a pandemic. According to agency executives, Precision was able to accomplish this by delivering maximum value to clients via an expanded focus on virtual capabilities, as well as further leveraging an established company culture built on a foundation of respect, cross-discipline support, and collaboration.

A renewed emphasis on Precision’s guiding principles of client service, purpose, accountability, mutual respect, and collaboration helped the agency to persevere throughout 2020, keeping employees engaged as well as maintaining its high standards of service in the process, management says. Some highlights over the course of the year include PRECISIONvalue’s vital role in an extensive corporate convergence and rebranding initiative, the continued recruitment of talented new staff, the ongoing generation of valuable thought leadership, and the further expansion of its unique products, services, and areas of expertise.   

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Despite the tumultuous market landscape of 2020, PRECISIONvalue was able to excel in advancing market-access marketing by combining robust industry expertise with full-service agency prowess, to provide life science companies with campaigns that drive patient access to groundbreaking therapies, agency executives say. In serving clients, PRECISIONvalue has supported 27 new products and new indication launches, 24 of which were for rare disease and specialty products, a long-standing area of focus and key differentiator for the company. Precision leaders were also pleased that the agency secured 14 new client wins, further reinforcing its continued market leadership position. 

“The unique and invaluable expertise of PRECISIONvalue’s Access Experience Team once again served as another differentiator, further elevating its offerings from that of its competitors,” management says. “The Access Experience Team (AET), a curated assemblage of over 25-plus former access executives, call upon their real-world experiences to identify the critical levers payers use to make market access decisions.”

The AET specializes in formulary, trade, contracting, specialty strategy, utilization management, and other critical topics central to coverage and access with risk-bearing organizations. In 2020, the AET provided crucial insights regarding the impact of COVID on the pharmaceutical industry, as well as focusing on customer engagement, greatly assisting clients in navigating unprecedented challenges. 

Additionally, with the shift to a virtual workplace, Precision found new ways to serve clients without losing the effectiveness of in-person interactions, through the expansion of the Value Transformation Practice, or VTP, agency leaders say. The VTP is an internal innovations lab composed of Precision experts working closely with their life sciences clients, actively and collaboratively identifying new opportunities for organizational growth and developing new strategic solutions for client-facing teams, providing ongoing operational and strategic support along the way. In 2020 and continuing in 2021, the VTP personified the company’s capacity to pivot by redefining and building out a complete suite of virtual capabilities. Through these efforts, the VTP helped its clients better understand the patient experience, delivering lower patient costs and improved population health in the process. 

One of the Value Transformation Practice’s signature initiatives is the Precision Access Institute, or PAI, which is a comprehensive, on-demand e-learning and training platform designed to provide in-depth information and education focused on the managed markets industry. Management says this platform allows field teams to master both cornerstone and contemporary teachings, leveraging unique content created/curated by Precision’s Access Experience Team. 

PAI includes modules covering seven different learning tracks, including the changing marketing landscape, coverage and reimbursement, organized customers, outcomes, specialty markets, value-based healthcare, quality, and population health topics. Agency leaders say clients using this unique platform are empowered with a dynamic learning experience featuring text-based, mobile, tablet, and desktop-friendly modules; leaderboards; quizzes; help desk support; and direct contact with AET experts through the Ask an AET online interface. This offering proved to be especially valuable in the year’s shift to a completely virtual work environment.

PRECISIONvalue also adapted and refined another VTP initiative, the Value and Access Insights Forum, shifting to a solely virtual format. “This customized, two-hour virtual meeting leveraged the invaluable expertise of PRECISIONvalue’s network of access decision-makers to unlock exclusive, actionable market insights and identify opportunities to improve access in the therapeutic area of their client’s choice,” management says. Topics for 2020 included IDNs, case managers, real-world data, companion diagnostic testing, value-based partnerships, population health management, the evolving employer landscape, and quality and oncology.

To better serve its clients, PRECISIONvalue also implemented AET Office Hours, according to the leadership team. This new service allowed clients to have regularly scheduled calls with Precision’s AET team, where they were able to discuss real-time issues with veteran experts. During these calls, the AET provided quick-hit insights and suggested potential solutions to key commercialization challenges. Some key topics addressed this past year included the managed care landscape, account-specific obstacles, contracting, precall planning, reimbursement distribution channels, guideline updates, and regulatory changes.

In the arenas of quality and population health, PRECISIONvalue leaders say the agency’s experts continued to drive thought leadership by concentrating on three key areas of focus: social determinants of health, value-based collaborations and contracts, and value-based care. In support of these topics, Precision’s subject matter experts created a wide array of informational materials to share with clients including white papers, exclusive surveys, and key findings reports. Other significant pieces of thought leadership included an extensive survey and report detailing the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare providers, and the ongoing distribution of targeted client newsletters, Precision Insights and All Access. 

Despite many conferences and industry events being forced to go virtual, PRECISIONvalue extended its thought leadership through a number of webinars, white papers, and scientific publications, as well as expert panels and speaker engagements. Some examples include Precision’s collaboration with the AMCP on an exclusive rare disease study and presentation, while other experts collaborated with the University of Southern California to present a webinar focused on social determinants of health. Precision had impressive representation through multiple presentations at the AVBCC conference, as well as participating internationally in a South American conference focusing on emerging cell and gene therapies, sponsored by the government of Brazil. PRECISIONvalue also conducted its own webinar series focusing on social determinants of health, as well as conducting several other well-attended webinars that were later summarized in white papers, proving to be an additional high-demand offering for Precision’s clients. Other select white paper topics included identifying and developing innovative pharma-IDN alliance opportunities, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on population health. The demand for Precision’s thought leadership also generated dozens of media placements over the course of the year, including commentaries, op-eds, interviews, and quoted insights in outlets such as Med Ad News, The American Journal of Managed Care, and The Journal of Clinical Pathways.

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES

In the first half of the year, PRECISIONvalue participated in a major rebranding undertaken by its parent company, Precision Value & Health. The rebranding included name changes, new logos, new websites, as well as updated messaging and positioning to accurately reflect expanded offerings. This evolution included dropping the “for” in Precision for Value to become simply PRECISIONvalue, which executives say better aligns the agency with the rest of Precision Value & Health’s teams and further emphasizes the collaborative connections between the brands. 

Precision Value & Health’s other commercialization teams now include PRECISIONadvisors (global pricing and market access strategy), PRECISIONeffect (healthcare communications and marketing), PRECISIONheor (evidence generation and strategy), PRECISIONscientia (medical communications), and PRECISIONxtract (data-driven analytics and insights). With more than 2,100 people in 35 locations in the United States, Canada, and Europe, management says Precision Value & Health has been assembled and specifically engineered to bring specialized expertise to every juncture of the innovation and commercialization continuum.  

According to its leaders, another differentiator of PRECISIONvalue is its unique, celebratory, and family-oriented culture. With the unanticipated switch to a completely virtual work environment, the agency ensured its employees maintained a healthy work/life balance, whether it was the creation of a recognition program, dedicating times for meeting “zones,” celebrating personal employee milestones virtually, hosting virtual happy hours and game nights, or providing all employees with an end-of-year appreciation package that also included a charitable component. “Of note, early in the pandemic, Precision also developed and launched a password-free microsite providing family-friendly resources and activities for clients, employees, and the general public to assist in adjusting to the new work-from-home reality,” management says. “All of these components truly reflect the strong, supportive culture at Precision and its guiding principles.”

The events of this past summer, bringing long-standing issues of systemic racism and health inequity to the national forefront, deeply resonated with Precision, the leadership team says. Arising out of several company-wide forums and listening sessions, management renewed their investment in diversity and inclusion through the creation of a dedicated initiative under the banner of Humanity in Action, or HIA. HIA initiatives developed over the year included the build-out of dedicated programs ensuring that all employees are provided with ongoing support and unique learning opportunities to raise awareness of racism, and continuing to build an immersive culture of diversity, inclusion, tolerance and belonging.

Despite the pandemic, Precision leaders renewed their commitment to bringing in the highest level of talent, continuing to recruit and add new staff with a dedicated emphasis on further diversifying the team’s expertise. Although some new additions started at Precision in a completely virtual setting, Precision ensured that their onboarding wouldn’t differ from what it would have been in-person, establishing a robust virtual training environment and implementing the use of technology-assisted guidance and buddy programs. “As an organization of people and principles that invests in extensive career development, career-pathing,’ and market access training to support long-term growth, Precision also maintained and expanded its internal training program to keep all staff at the top of their game and in maximum service to clients,” company executives say. 

FUTURE PLANS

Throughout 2020, PRECISIONvalue employees have proven that they provide significant value to their clients, regardless of where they work. “With this understanding, Precision remains committed to continuing to offer its employees a flexible work environment – even looking beyond the pandemic and a return to a ‘new normal’ – as the company will continue to be versatile in its offerings and the methods in which they are delivered,” agency leaders say.

In the first half of 2021, Precision continued its ambitious expansion of services and expertise through the launch of Precision ADVANCE – the company’s new cell and gene therapy collective, aligned under corporate parent Precision Medicine Group. Management says by leveraging PRECISIONvalue’s extensive knowledge of the commercialization landscape, Precision ADVANCE draws upon expertise from across Precision Medicine Group’s teams to offer interconnected services and teams uniquely positioned to address the challenges facing cell and gene therapy innovators. “With the launch, Precision is now the only life-science services company with true end-to-end capabilities in cell and gene therapy – spanning research and development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and commercialization,” the executive team says. 

Throughout 2021, the Value Transformation Practice will continue to focus on strategic initiatives and insight aggregation that align to the organization’s long-term goals and priorities for customer profitability and growth under the “One PRECISION” vision. Company executives say as part of this initiative, Precision will continue to develop new platforms for smooth and efficient client onboarding and internal training. 

Precision will also continue to provide real-time insights and thought leadership via social media, including expansion of the popular Access90 video series. Throughout 2021, AET members and other experts from throughout the company will continue to offer their perspectives on a variety of late-breaking market access topics, allowing industry followers to quickly be brought up to speed on the latest developments surrounding value demonstration, access, reimbursement, and policy changes, with short videos running under two minutes in length. In addition, the popular All Access bi-monthly newsletter, sharing insights and perspectives from the AET team, will also continue and expand its coverage to address the most pressing topics facing access decision-makers. Additionally, Precision will further expand the membership of the Access Experience Team with a special emphasis on oncology, bringing in several prominent practice and provider leaders from the oncology space to elevate the level of expertise in a critical area of focus for clients.

PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP

In a year unlike any other, PRECISIONvalue employees made sure to prioritize giving back through their support of a variety of charities both locally and nationally, including medical research organizations, children’s hospitals, and cancer patient support groups, according to agency leaders. In addition, Precision employees contributed to families impacted by COVID19, various local food drives, and in support of foster children. 

Together, Precision employees participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Move Together Fitness Challenge. In October, Precision focused the organization’s fundraising and educational efforts on Breast Cancer Awareness. Precision’s social media logos were temporarily turned from blue to pink, and all channels featured an ongoing series of informative posts. These posts included various educational resources, as well as videos submitted by employees. The videos shared personal stories of how breast cancer has impacted them, and/or how the fight against breast cancer has personally inspired them to pursue their careers in healthcare. On October 16th, Precision encouraged all employees to raise awareness by wearing pink. For each employee that did, Precision made a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Conquer Cancer Foundation. “Overall, employees across PRECISIONvalue and corporate parent Precision Medicine Group came together to raise $21,812 for cancer fighting organizations,” according to agency leaders. 

Additionally, earlier in the year, nearly 100 Precision employees participated in the Move Together Fitness Challenge, organized by MM&M. Agency executives say this event highlighted the importance of taking care of mental and physical health and well-being, which was especially imperative in 2020. In this five-day fitness challenge, for every mile of activity logged, one dollar was donated to World Central Kitchen, helping to feed families impacted by COVID19. 

 Throughout the year, Precision employees from New Jersey, New York, Chicago, and Costa Mesa also donated to a variety of local charities. New Jersey staff donated $5,000 in support of the Starfish Food Pantry, sponsored the Morris County Habitat For Humanity Hearts and Hammers Gala, and participated in Immune2Cancer Day, supporting cancer immunotherapy research. PRECISIONvalue’s New York office donated 572 pounds of food to City Harvest, participated in a blood drive, and created cards for hospitalized children. The Chicago office conducted a Virtual Holiday Fundraiser for the SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, an organization that provides foster homes for children, particularly siblings so they can stay together. Chicago locals raised $1,325, which was used to purchase gifts for the foster kids. Lastly, in Costa Mesa, employees mobilized to make 30 no-sew blankets for cancer patients, through the Yana Cancer Comfort organization.