Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR)

In today’s competitive markets, the challenge is not only to articulate and quantify the value of your product but also to differentiate it to ensure a successful market access and reimbursement strategy.

Trinity’s Evidence and Outcomes solution, our Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) team, is purpose-built to strategically plan, execute, and deploy evidence to inform the product’s value strategy in the marketplace. Leveraging best-in-class, scientifically driven, publication-quality primary and secondary research methods, we help our clients demonstrate the holistic value of their assets across the product lifecycle. We proactively guide the development of publication-grade evidence to cover a broad range of communication needs, including driving disease-state awareness, increasing product awareness, identifying keys to successful adoption, and utilization. We work in partnership with our client partners to identify and overcome potential roadblocks, to strategically plan for market access challenges, and to create evidence to support their strategic pricing goals.

Trinity offers a complete suite of HEOR services, from strategy development (think: Evidence Generation Planning, Analog Assessments, KOL/HCP/Patient Engagement and Payer/HTA Strategy) to specific tactics (think: field tool development and deployment, HECON calculators and models), and all the evidence generation techniques (think: physician/patient surveys, RWE/Claims analyses). We apply a strategic lens, often incorporating multiple methodologies and cutting-edge services such as Discrete Choice Exercises (DCEs) to help our clients differentiate the value of their product vs. the competition. We work with our customers across all phases of a product’s lifecycle, from early clinical development all the way to launch and post-launch.

• Our Team

  Our dedicated HEOR team is globally recognized for its expertise and has 60+ years of combined HEOR experience (85+ years of life sciences consulting experience). The team is led by an economist who presents annually at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and who has authored numerous white papers and peer-reviewed journal articles. She is supported by two Managing Directors, also leaders in the Evidence Generation/HEOR space, who also bring deep expertise in the sphere of HEOR/Evidence Generation/Scientific Dissemination.

  Trinity’s HEOR team features advanced degrees including multiple PhD-level experts and has conducted ~70 HEOR projects in 2018-2019, and about that many in 2020 alone — a tremendous trajectory of growth. We consistently deliver high-quality insights and products to meet internal and external stakeholder needs. No wonder our repeat project rate with existing clients is >80%: 84% of our client partners come back to us for the next project, and 56% of our clients work with us on three or more projects.

• Our Capabilities

  The HEOR team offers end-to-end, full-service support: evidence strategy and planning, execution of publication-grade studies, and pull-through to scientific dissemination:

  Evidence Strategy

  • Assess evidence needs across stakeholder types – Payers/HCPs/ Patients/CGs
  • Develop the holistic and scientific Value Story for your asset – clinical, economic, QOL vs. unmet needs and evidence gaps
  • Develop strategic and compelling Evidence Generation Plans

  Evidence Generation

  • Develop evidence to shine a light on the shortcomings of competitor products (current unmet needs)
  • Conduct studies to demonstrate your asset’s value – clinical/econ/humanistic
  • Leverage best-in-class subject matter experts (SMEs) and best-in-class capabilities within Trinity

  Communication

  • Create a compelling product Value Story to drive differentiation and support pricing & market access
  • Drive scientific dissemination via Posters & Manuscripts to communicate your Value Story and competitor shortcomings
  • Develop Value Dossiers, field tools and HECON models
• HEOR Strategy

  We help customers effectively navigate critical contemporary challenges with fit-for-purpose services including value quantification, strategic planning for differentiation and access, and deploying HEOR evidence-generation methodologies to maximize their product’s value story.

  Developing the product value story begins with a strategic plan and tactical roadmap that lays out each step of evidence generation. Our roadmaps include value modeling, strategically incorporating Voice of Customer (VOC) research, leveraging real-world data and evidence (RWD/E) and scientifically communicating the product’s value in industry, clinical and payer forums, both in the US and around the globe.

  Trinity integrates a multi-disciplinary suite of capabilities including secondary research (peer-reviewed literature searching/synthesis, real-world evidence/claims/Big Data) and both qualitative and quantitative primary research with physicians, payers, patients and caregivers. We analyze this data with our dedicated team of biostatisticians using advanced techniques. We conduct Medical Chart Audits when we need to capture not just what the care paradigm is but also physician rationale around the why and quantify the perceived unmet needs. In cases in which the holistic burden of illness is less defined/understood we employ a range of techniques to quantify the burden on not only patients but in some instances on their caregivers and families. We apply statistical techniques such as Discrete Choice Exercises/Trade-off Studies to quantify Physician/Patient Preferences and to differentiate our client’s products from the competition.

HEOR Core Pillars of Excellence

Below we describe just a couple of our Pillar Projects:

• Evidence Generation Plan

  Evidence Generation Plans help customers meet the evidentiary needs of the product, differentiate it from currently available treatments and communicate its value proposition. Trinity is particularly effective at identifying “Must Have” evidence by geography and stakeholder type and supporting organizational alignment through creative and high-impact workshops, to create an actionable and well-resourced plan.

  We convene discussions with both external and internal stakeholders to create a detailed evidence generation plan that includes study type (the majority of which Trinity has the capability to execute internally), timing, and alignment with internal cross-functional stage gates. We deliver the plan to customers through a dynamic, cross-functional workshop that aligns organizations around priorities and resources and serves as a compelling call to action.

• Burden of Illness – Using Claims and Primary Research Methodologies

  Trinity’s Burden of Illness projects support disease awareness efforts and act as foundational information for both medical and commercial teams. Our methodologies leverage Big Data to generate publication-quality insights on resource utilization, cost, adherence, incidence, etc. We utilize our primary market research expertise to conduct research with patients and caregivers to paint a full picture of the disease, its clinical symptomology and its impact on social, mental and emotional wellness, as well as the impact on families (including parents and siblings). Establishing the burden of an illness serves as a strategic foundation to drive downstream product strategy—from an HEOR and commercial lens. Burden of Illness projects inform unmet needs in the current care paradigm and help pave the way for the new product’s value proposition.

• Medical Chart Audit Studies

  Trinity’s Medical Chart Audits capture the real-world treatment paradigm from diagnosis, treatment and management patterns, and the resulting outcomes for patients. In short, our chart studies shine a light on today’s approach to patient care, as practiced in the real-world setting. They are designed to not only quantify line of therapy use and key outcomes metrics but also to address the why behind physician treatment decisions. The rationale behind physician treatment choices is key so we can quantify where current therapies are performing adequately and delivering good outcomes vs. where there are unmet needs and gaps in treatment. Our publication-grade Chart Audit studies have helped clients across a broad spectrum – from demonstrating unmet needs in the current SOC and paving the way for product launch to quantifying the relative outcomes benefits of a therapy vs. other treatments.

  Additional projects include Systematic and Targeted Literature Reviews, Network Meta-Analysis, Value Dossier Development, Budget Impact Models, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), and Claims/RWE projects to inform disease epidemiology, cost of care, and comparative effectiveness.