In 2022, Novartis announced its access strategy in the US for Leqvio, focussing on partnering with health systems to reach cardiologists and utilise the buy-and-bill infrastructure across all channels. The strategy was driven by the consolidation of cardiologists in the recent past, with over 85% of doctors now employed within health systems (versus less than 15% in 2008). At the time, it was believed that 200 of these health systems represented just under two-thirds of the expected prescription volume.

On Tuesday 24 October 2023, in the investor call to announce their interim (Q3) results, the company gave an update on the product’s roll-out. They noted usage continues to expand steadily but warned it would be a long journey as they seek to build out the buy and bill pathway and educate physicians across the entire landscape of cardiology offices. Performance benchmarks well versus other PCSK9 launches, as well as against other asymptomatic Part B therapies launched over the last two decades.

Regarding the numbers, adoption was now at 3,100 facilities, about 50% up from Q2, and 55% of business is now through buy and bill with room to expand. Interestingly, the presenters analysed that once key accounts get up to 8 to 10 patients on Leqvio, this acts as a driver for even higher utilisation. Novartis’ next steps? Hyper-target physician groups that are most likely to have urgency to treat patients with elevated risk following a cardiovascular event.

This strategy is one that many manufacturers will be keeping a keen eye on, as this consolidation across the provider and physician landscape is not only applicable in cardiology but also in other therapy areas such as oncology. On the call, Novartis gave the impression that they are still bullish about the tactic, but as they note, there is a long way to go to reach the full potential multibillion-dollar potential predicted by analysts.

This article was originally published
by Adam Meads on LinkedIn

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Content in this article is based on secondary market research using externally sourced data available in the public domain. Opinions and commentary are those of the authors and do not reflect views of any commercial organisation or government body mentioned in the article. For any questions relating to the article please contact adam.meads@verpora.com.