SCHEMA: 2024

SCHEMA, a BGB company

250 W 34th Street, New York, NY 10119

212-920-2400 • [email protected] • bgbgroup.com

 

Quick facts

Services mix

• Market access and payer marketing: 100%

Finalist

• Agency on the Rise

“2023 was a milestone year for SCHEMA,” according to agency leaders. While BGB Group has provided payer and market access capabilities since 2015, this specialized offering was finally formalized as its own entity, and industry veteran and market access expert Lisa Bair recently was tapped to lead it.   

According to managers, SCHEMA (SCience + Health Economics for Market Access) is dedicated to partnering with clients as they navigate today’s complex and constantly evolving payer landscape. SCHEMA shares BGB’s DNA and values as it uncovers the clinical insights that translate into actionable solutions. “SCHEMA digs deep into understanding the unique messaging aligned to various value decision maker customer types. Ultimately, SCHEMA is dedicated to ensuring patients gain access to the medicines they need at the right time.”

Leaders say SCHEMA is composed of a veteran team with individual team members bringing decades of experience in market access. “The team’s expertise allows SCHEMA to be uniquely positioned to tackle the market challenges specific to rare and complex diseases.”

Recent accomplishments

There has been no shortage of challenges facing payer and market access experts across the industry this past year,” the leadership team states. “The Pre-Approval Information Exchange (PIE) legislation has paved the way to engage value decision makers in conversations much earlier in the process. Clients who are second or third to market have increased their interest in generating real-world evidence to support the need for strengthened value propositions and differentiation. In addition, the development of patient support programs that are both innovative and efficient in shortening lead time to diagnosis and treatment have become critical cornerstones in improving brand ROI.” 

“I came to BGB Group because I saw a true commitment from the leadership team to drive differentiation in market access marketing,” Bair says. “The vision of SCHEMA is to architect the future state of solutions uniquely tailored to our clients’ needs, rooted in a data analytics foundation, and thus we have been able to recruit top industry talent aligned to the vision. Each one of our team members has anywhere from a decade to 30-plus years of experience in the payer space, a mandate in this rapidly changing environment.”

“We’re excited about our growing client roster,” Bair says. “SCHEMA has the benefit of accessing BGB Group’s unique mix of specialty services to offer our clients consistency and efficiency in an integrated offering, but we share the common goal of expanding client relationships through innovation.”

The leadership team says time and again, SCHEMA has been able to demonstrate the highest level of brand support by partnering with clients early on in the pre-approval timeframe. “Whether we’re focused on creating value for the next tumor type of a multi-indication blockbuster or working in complex drug classifications, our priority is better patient outcomes.”

“We have our own agency objectives for diversifying our therapeutic area focus as SCHEMA,” says Executive VP Ian Hunt. “Cost pressures impact all our customers, but we have a very patient-centric mind set. There are so many diseases that require innovative thinking in defining a relevant value message.”

Structure and services

SCHEMA team members say they prioritize quality expertise in every department that supports the work. “The entire team brings in-depth payer and market access experience, including our expanding creative team,” says Lori O’Neill, executive VP. “We see this as a true differentiator for SCHEMA. Every single person touching payer business is value and reimbursement focused. We understand the nuances of our role in solving for brand challenges.”

SCHEMA has full access to services and resources of the larger BGB Group including scientific consultancy, integrated medical team, and sophisticated proprietary technology and data analytics.

Future plans

Payer and market access capabilities are the fastest growing agency offering in the industry,” executives say. “While many agencies are promoting market access expertise, research indicates that there is still a high level of client dissatisfaction with the current agency providers. SCHEMA services clients of every size, with staff experienced in rare, complex, and competitive science.”

Aligned to the legacy of BGB Group, SCHEMA is grounded in the science of marketing, managers say, adding this will continue to be important as defining more dynamic, comprehensive, and complex patient journeys becomes essential to navigate the evolving access challenges.

“We tailor our client teams to uniquely align to our clients’ needs,” Bair says. “It is important that our smaller biotech clients feel like they are getting the same level of support and industry advantage as big pharma. Future priorities are very in line with the greater BGB Group. We will continue to partner with and support our expanding capabilities and service lines, looking forward as we embark on new strategic partnerships with technology solution underpinnings.