The life sciences industry is shifting rapidly toward specialty portfolio products, and this transformation requires an evolution in how companies approach their market access and account management strategies.
With 80% of 2024 FDA-approved drugs being specialty products, the stakes for adapting to this change are higher than ever. Whether a smaller biopharma company or global pharmaceutical company, this shift has major implications for the learning & development (L&D) function to support the strategy and ready talent for different marketplace challenges.
Historically, the pharmaceutical market revolved around primary care products, supported by broad-reaching sales strategies. These drugs were subject to significant oversight by organized customers due to their impact on healthcare budgets.
Now, specialty drugs command a larger share of healthcare spending, introducing substantial financial risks for integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and payers. These stakeholders are tightening restrictions, scrutinizing value, negotiating contracts and demanding robust value demonstrations.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because it mirrors the shift seen with primary care products in the past. The response then was a move to key account management—a transformation requiring new roles, mindset shifts and significant upskilling efforts.
Historically, specialty promotion was much more of a traditional sales approach. Treatment decisions were mostly made at the provider level based upon the latest clinical data, the ability for administration and ease of reimbursement. So, specialty sales representatives essentially just needed to convince a provider of the product’s clinical benefits to get it prescribed.
Traditional sales approaches no longer suffice as treatment decisions are increasingly determined by various stakeholders within, or externally to the organized customers rather than individual providers. Companies must adopt strategic account management models to stay competitive, with tailored strategies and enhanced capabilities for specialty teams to identify patients and deal with complex supply chain, storage and medical administration.
For organizations with established account management training for primary care teams, this can serve as a foundation — but specialty products come with unique complexities:
Patient identification and diagnosis: Earlier and more accurate identification of patients.
Product acquisition and administration: Managing non-traditional treatments like infusions or device-based therapies.
Reimbursement navigation: Supporting providers with complex reimbursement processes for extremely high-priced medicines.
Moreover, factors like formulary control, prior authorizations and integration with EHR systems demand specialized skills for navigating organized accounts.
For L&D teams, it’s about upskilling the existing specialty representatives and other customerfacing roles with the right knowledge and skills on how to navigate accounts. You now must teach them the specialty model of the business. If you don’t have this capability in your organization yet, you need to embed the right skills:
Healthcare trends and ecosystem analysis: Understanding the interplay between various healthcare, economic and political factors impacting care delivery in a local geography.
Account profiling and stakeholder analysis: Identifying actionable insights by analyzing business, clinical and operational priorities.
Stakeholder relationship mapping: Developing strong connections with executive leaders, service line managers and HCPs to address the shift toward decisions impacting the patient journey.
Strategic account planning: Turning insights into clear, actionable plans.
Collaboration culture: Fostering a customer-focused, information-sharing mindset across teams.
Customer engagement skills: Equipping field roles to address stakeholders’ needs effectively.
The rise of specialty pharmaceuticals makes strategic account management a necessity, not a luxury. L&D teams play a vital role in this transformation by equipping commercial teams with the skills and knowledge to excel in this complex market. Partner with experienced consultants who understand strategic account management and can adapt frameworks for the specialty marketplace. These partners can bring best practices, benchmarks and customized solutions to:
Evaluate current capabilities: Assess existing account management skills among specialty teams, identifying gaps in knowledge, tools and behaviors.
Create specialty-specific blended learning solutions: Address the complexities for different roles (for instance, key account managers, medical science liaisons and sales representatives), ensuring alignment with their specific responsibilities.
Blend learning formats: Use a mix of in-person workshops, virtual modules and integrate technology and tools to enhance data analytical skills to identify trends, risks and opportunities within accounts.
Promote cross-functional collaboration: Specially designed programs and approaches align on goals, strategies and shared responsibilities in a compliant and coordinated manner.
Foster a customer-focused mindset: Emphasize collaboration, long-term relationship building and delivering value to organized customers.
By taking these actions, pharmaceutical L&D functions can ensure their teams are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of specialty drugs and build meaningful partnerships with organized customers, ultimately driving success in the evolving healthcare market.
Wendy Heckelman, Ph.D., is president and founder of WLH Consulting and Learning Solutions. Email her at wendy@wlhconsulting.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/wendy-l-heckelman-phd.
Rich Baron is chief operating officer for WLH Consulting and Learning Solutions. Email Rich at rich@wlhconsulting.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/richbaron1.
