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With CMS now releasing MFPs for IPAY 2027 and preparations already underway for IPAY 2028, the landscape continues to shift. This focused 1-hour webinar brings together advisors from Verpora and Manatt Health — joined for the first time by a US payer perspective — to examine what’s changing and how manufacturers should respond.

Unlike our previous IPAY webinars, which focused on lessons from previous cycles, this session looks ahead — addressing early strategy for selected products, the inclusion of Part B medicines, and the impact of broader political and regulatory developments.

In this session:

• How CMS’s approach has evolved between IPAY 2026 and 2027 — and what that signals for IPAY 2028

• The new complexity introduced by Part B inclusion in IPAY 2028

• Manufacturer strategy: how early preparation shapes outcomes

• Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing pressures and negotiation dynamics

• The payer response: formulary strategy, unintended consequences, and future readiness

Thinking ahead to IPAY 2028 or preparing for possible selection?

Use Verpora’s insight to sharpen your early strategy and better understand what’s coming.

Email wanda.lesowiec@verpora.com to start the conversation.

Webinar Disclaimer: This presentation is for discussion purposes only. No part of this presentation is intended as legal advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential, publicly sourced intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinion and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this webinar may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora and Manatt Health.

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Speakers

Adam Buckler
VP Innovative Contracting
LinkedIn

Omar Ali
Head of Payers, Verpora
LinkedIn

Chris Webber
Head of Negotiation, Verpora
LinkedIn

Ross Margulies
Partner,
Manatt Health
LinkedIn

Drake Reiter
Director, Pharmcy Operations, Priority Health
LinkedIn

In the final episode of the series, Omar speaks with Dr Abdulrazag Al-Jazairi, Advisor to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, about the rapidly evolving payer and HTA environment in Saudi Arabia.

They discuss what it means to develop payer infrastructure from the ground up, the influence of international frameworks on domestic decision-making, and how value-based agreements are beginning to play a role in national pricing strategy.

Key themes:

• HTA system development in Saudi Arabia

• Local adaptation of international pricing logic

• Role of VBAs in emerging access models

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

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Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

Omar is joined by Professor Lieven Annemans, former chair of Belgium’s health economics advisory committee, to explore the complexities of European HTA policy.

They talk about the role of Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA), the risk of over-assessment in policy design, and the challenge of maintaining local relevance within a harmonised EU framework. Lieven brings perspective on how the purpose of assessment is sometimes lost in the process of implementation.

Key themes:

• Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) readiness and implications

• Local vs EU-level HTA alignment

• Over-assessment, duplication, and unintended bureaucracy

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In this episode, Omar speaks with Canadian health economist and policy advisor Don Husereau about Canada’s unique payer landscape. Don isn’t your typical policy analyst. He’s worked in HTA, advised governments, and written widely about the gaps, flaws, and hidden logic in pricing systems like Canada’s.

They discuss the decentralised nature of decision-making, the gap between evidence generation and clinical practice, and the disconnect between how healthcare science is developed versus how healthcare systems operate. Don shares his perspective on the pressures facing CADTH and how Canadian policy reflects a deeper tension between idealism and pragmatism.

Key themes:

• Decentralised payer environment in Canada

• Evidence generation vs clinical practice

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

Omar speaks with Dr Krzysztof Landa, former Deputy Minister of Health, health economist, and someone who’s helped shape the pricing and HTA landscape in Poland over the past two decades.

They examine the influence of external pricing references, the practical realities of MFN implementation, and the state of HTA reform. The discussion also covers the potential role of JCA and how manufacturers can adapt to a system that combines political oversight with economic rigor.

Key themes:

• External reference pricing and its impact in Poland

• MFN price pressure and response

• HTA reform and the readiness for JCA

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In the opening episode of series two of The Payer Exchange, Omar Ali is joined by Dr Yousaf Ahmad, Chief Pharmacist and Director of Medicines Optimisation at a NHS Integrated Care System.

They explore the practical trade-offs being made inside the NHS today: the pressure to find efficiency without losing sight of quality, the reality of navigating oncology value frameworks, and the challenge of ensuring that VBAs work for both payers and manufacturers. The conversation also touches on the UK’s evolving approach to MFN spillover and combination treatments.

Key themes:

• NHS cost-effectiveness thresholds and their evolution

• Practical implementation of VBAs in the NHS

• Oncology access and MFN pricing ripple effects

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

Access to this masterclass is by request only. Click here to arrange access

Global pricing pressures are reshaping how market access teams operate — not just in the US, but across every major region. As the balance of pricing power shifts and expectations rise in emerging markets, companies face a new imperative: to defend value globally, while operating with fewer resources and faster timelines.

For senior access leaders, this isn’t just about reallocating budgets — it’s about reshaping how capability is structured and delivered across international markets. Where do you invest? How do you scale strategy and execution when local needs differ so widely? And what kind of system supports agility without losing consistency?

If your remit includes international access strategy or capability development, this session offers grounded perspective on what’s working — and where it’s heading next:

• Key tips on how to scale and adapt access capabilities across diverse markets without losing local relevance

• Ways to strengthen payer engagement under resource and pricing pressure

• Strategies to align global & regional intent with local execution

• Insights into the practical barriers holding back implementation — and proven strategies to fix it

• The unique perspective of pharma leaders tackling current real world challenges, as told live and in-person

Real-world insights
on how to:

Partner with INSPIRE! to scale international access

Arrange a time to discuss your greatest challenges with the INSPIRE! expert team…

Email wanda.lesowiec@verpora.com

Speakers

Adam Buckler
VP Innovative Contracting
Verpora
LinkedIn

Omar Ali
Head of Payers,
Verpora
LinkedIn

Chris Webber
Head of Negotiation, Verpora
LinkedIn

Paola Valinotti
Founder,
Access2Health
LinkedIn

Webinar Disclaimer: This presentation is for discussion purposes only. No part of this presentation is intended as legal advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential, publicly sourced intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinion and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this webinar may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora and Manatt Health.

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What happens when a one-time therapy offers a lifetime of benefit — but payers still expect year-by-year value?

Hemgenix’s 10-year agreement in Europe shows how VBAs are evolving to meet the needs of high-cost, high-impact treatments. Omar and Adam unpack how this deal was structured, why such long-term agreements are gaining traction, and what this means for pipeline therapies in cell and gene.

Covered:

• The economics of curative therapies

• What makes long-term VBAs viable for both sides

• Early signals on payer thinking across the EU

Never miss an episode

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Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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Rare diseases face a paradox: the need for urgent access meets a limited evidence base.

In this episode, Omar and Adam unpack what makes value alignment so tough in rare conditions, where uncertainty is high and endpoints are often unconventional. Through case examples, they explore how to shift payer conversations beyond “how much?” to “what value really means.”

Themes include:

• Why rare disease deals stall at the value stage

• Approaches for agreement under clinical and financial uncertainty

• Making space for risk-sharing, not just risk-avoidance

Never miss an episode

Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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Even with good data and a well-reasoned value proposition, misalignment between manufacturers and payers is common. This episode explores what causes value mismatches — from how data is interpreted, to what decision-makers are actually incentivised to consider. Omar and Adam discuss how to identify the root of disconnects, and what manufacturers can do to rebuild common ground.

We explore:

• Strategic and operational blind spots in payer engagement

• When cost-effectiveness models aren’t the problem, but the mindset is

• How to navigate value communication in fragmented systems

Never miss an episode

Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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Not all patients benefit equally. So what happens when a drug performs better in one subpopulation than another? Denmark’s SMA pricing model shows how tiered approaches can make pricing fair — aligning with outcomes and satisfying payer expectations. In this episode, we discuss how different evidence sets, real-world performance, and evolving patient stratification are reshaping price-per-value thinking.

Covered:

• Denmark’s model for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

• The problem of uniform pricing across uneven efficacy

• Designing contracting mechanisms that flex with data

Never miss an episode

Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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The strategy behind combination therapy launch sequencing isn’t just about timing — it can dramatically reshape your pricing outcomes. In this second episode on oncology combinations, we dig into launch scenarios, evidence generation timelines, and why some deals end up hurting the value of later products. Adam and Omar unpack the tension between short-term wins and long-term market shaping.

Key themes:

• How pricing is influenced by which product launches first

• Real-world missteps and their consequences

• The fine line between data readiness and market readiness

Never miss an episode

Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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Combination therapies in oncology are changing the game, but the challenge is real: how do you price a drug that only adds incremental benefit when used with another?

In this episode, we explore how payers assess these add-ons and why clinical benefit must be separated from commercial strategy. Omar and Adam walk through real-world examples and ask: What kind of evidence is persuasive when your therapy isn’t the main event, but still adds value?

Topics covered:

• How frameworks struggle with incremental benefit

• Why oncology poses specific IC challenges

• What happens when combination therapies hit misaligned HTA processes

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

Never miss an episode

Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

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In this final episode of Series 1, Omar Ali speaks with Jaime Espín, health economist, former advisor to the Spanish Ministry of Health, and one of Spain’s most well-known payer figures.

Jaime discusses the ongoing regulatory reforms reshaping the Spanish access environment, including efforts to modernise outdated decision-making processes. The conversation also explores moves toward greater pricing transparency and Spain’s experience with outcome-based payment models—including the practical and economic barriers to implementing staged payments in a system under pressure.

This episode brings the series to a close with a clear-eyed look at how one of Europe’s most complex markets is evolving in response to innovation, cost, and political scrutiny.

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In this episode, Omar Ali speaks with Hans Severens, a respected academic and former Vice Chair of the Dutch Health Council, who brings deep insight into the work of ZIN and the Netherlands’ evolving HTA framework.

Hans shares how the Dutch approach to value-based pricing is becoming increasingly sophisticated—and why severity of disease may carry more weight than rarity in reimbursement decisions. The conversation also explores the feasibility of sustaining the healthcare system amid rising costs, and the importance of honest trade-offs in payer decision-making.

This episode offers a sharp, system-level view of Dutch payer logic, and raises essential questions for manufacturers working with high-cost therapies and real-world evidence.

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In this episode, Omar Ali speaks with Professor Fabrizio Gianfrate, a voting member of AIFA (the Italian Medicines Agency) and a long-standing voice in European health economics and policy.

The discussion highlights Italy’s relatively positive access environment for rare disease treatments—contrasted with the pricing trade-offs manufacturers may need to accept. Fabrizio also addresses the structural limitations of Italy’s financial governance, and how this affects the country’s ability to implement payment-over-time models or innovative contracting.

It’s a nuanced conversation that sheds light on a market often perceived as opaque, but which offers valuable lessons on access strategy, fiscal policy, and real-world system constraints.

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In this episode of The Payer Exchange, Omar Ali speaks with Detlev Parow, former Head of Pharmaceutical Services at one of Germany’s largest statutory health insurance funds.

The conversation explores how Germany is responding to rising pressures on access and affordability—often in ways that differ from other major markets. From a pragmatic stance on obesity drugs to counterintuitive pricing dynamics for multi-indication products, Detlev offers sharp insights grounded in payer practice.

They also discuss the growing role of outcomes-based guarantees, especially for high-cost therapies like gene treatments, and reflect on how payer mindsets are adapting to evolving innovation and fiscal pressure.

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast from Verpora that explores how payers around the world are navigating complex pricing and access decisions. Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different healthcare system—offering direct insight into the practical realities of drug funding, reimbursement, and health system sustainability.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

In the opening episode of The Payer Exchange, Verpora’s Head of Payers, Omar Ali, speaks with Jean Claude Castanier, a former member of CEPS, the French Economic Committee for Health Products.

The conversation explores France’s approach to managing drug pricing and reimbursement in an increasingly complex therapeutic landscape. Jean Claude shares his perspective on the long-running challenges of preserving net price across multiple indications, the evolving role of payers as public communicators, and the importance of maintaining long-term healthcare system sustainability.

This episode offers rare, candid insight into the thinking behind one of Europe’s most influential pricing bodies—and sets the tone for a global series of honest conversations with payers on the front lines.

About The Payer Exchange

The Payer Exchange is a podcast series that offers a candid and unfiltered look at how real-world decisions on drug pricing, access, and reimbursement are being made by payers across different healthcare systems.

Hosted by Omar Ali, Verpora’s Head of Payers, each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different country in Verpora’s payer network. These are not panel discussions or scripted interviews—they are direct, unscripted dialogues that explore the practical realities of funding decisions from those who have been directly involved in them.

The series covers a range of consistent themes across markets—such as horizon scanning, indication-based pricing, rare diseases, and system sustainability—while also highlighting country-specific dynamics. By asking the same core questions in each conversation, the podcast reveals both common pressures and contrasting approaches across healthcare systems.

The Payer Exchange is designed for professionals working in market access, pricing, policy, and strategy who want a deeper understanding of how payers are approaching the increasingly complex landscape of pharmaceutical innovation.

Listen and subscribe

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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This episode digs into a story where patient perspectives changed everything. Omar Ali and Adam Buckler discuss how Botox, as a treatment for migraine, didn’t initially look promising:

• It was an injectable therapy in a space dominated by cheaper oral medicines.

• The clinical data didn’t show a clear reduction in migraine frequency.

• The cost and delivery challenges made it even tougher to justify to payers.

Who could help you with your next move in this position?

This is where the patient voice proved critical, giving real-world evidence that challenged conclusions of the original PREEMPT study — demonstrating how the treatment genuinely improved patients’ daily lives, work, and wellbeing in ways the data didn’t fully capture, which was that while the frequency of migraines didn’t change with the treatment, it caused patients to experience less severe attacks.

This feedback reframed the conversation, showing that effectiveness isn’t just about numbers — it’s about lived experience and the outcomes that matter most to those who rely on the treatment.

The takeaway is clear: patients are a crucial voice in shaping what access and value truly mean. When their perspectives are heard, they can transform how treatments are understood, evaluated, and brought to the people who need them most.

If you’re interested in how other stakeholders shape access and value, check out our earlier episode on stakeholder engagement, particularly empowering physicians — another key voice in making market access decisions work.

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this presentation may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

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Receive a single email each week with a direct link to the latest IC Fireside Chat— no spam, just the latest episode, straight to your inbox.

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Through the eyes of a former NICE insider; a 30,000-foot full-throttle take on the collapse of NHS England's structure – and the ripple effects across commissioning, VPAG, NICE, ICBs and pharma's next move.

Broadcast from the BHBIA Annual Conference 2025 in Wembley Park, Omar Ali – a former NICE insider – takes the stage with a candid, high-energy briefing on the dramatic upheavals in NHS England’s structures. Framed through a payer’s lens, Omar unpacks how these shifts ripple through commissioning, VPAG, NICE, ICBs, and pharma’s next strategic steps.

Key Themes:

• Inside the Restructuring: A critical look at the collapse of the NHS’s structures and the new “neighborhood team” dynamics.

• Beyond the Sales Pitch: Why manufacturers must shift from selling to proving real-world usage and outcomes – and what this means for local payers.

• Flexible Contracting: How value-based procurement and adaptable contracting are no longer optional but essential.

• A Call to Collaborate: Navigating these changes demands shared problem-solving, not static solutions.

Takeaway:

Pharma and medtech companies need to rethink their entire approach – moving from transactional deals to system-wide solutions that stand up to real-world testing.

More information

→ Find out about Verpora’s VSTx data solution

Disclaimer: This presentation is for discussion purposes only, and is not intended as legal or policy advice. This presentation is based on non-confidential intelligence. Views expressed by the speakers are personal opinions and should not be attributed to anyone else. No part of this webinar may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express permission of Verpora.

Speakers

Omar Ali
Head of Payers, Verpora
LinkedIn