Access by design: Market access thinking across the drug development lifecycle

Esther Nzenza, Senior Partner and Practice Lead of our Global Value and Access team at Acumetis, discusses the importance of integrating market access, evidence planning, and cross-functional decision-making earlier in drug development.

As health technology assessment (HTA) requirements evolve and the EU’s Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) process reshapes evidence expectations, pharmaceutical companies face growing pressure to align regulatory, medical, commercial, and market access strategies earlier in development.

In a recent PharmaExective video interview, Esther explores why traditional, milestone-driven approaches to market access are becoming less effective and how earlier collaboration can strengthen evidence planning and reimbursement strategies.

Integrating market access earlier in development

Decisions around clinical endpoints, comparators, and evidence generation can significantly influence future access outcomes. When market access teams engage too late, opportunities to address evidence gaps may already be limited.

Esther discusses how bringing regulatory, medical affairs, HEOR, commercial, and market access specialists together earlier can help organizations:

• Anticipate evolving HTA and EU JCA requirements.

• Identify evidence and value gaps earlier in development.

• Align clinical, commercial, and reimbursement strategies.

• Adapt access planning as market requirements change.

Watch the full interview to explore Esther’s perspective on embedding market access thinking throughout the drug development lifecycle.