Over the past 13 years, the team at Nuvera has had the privilege to support pharmaceutical and biotech companies and more importantly, patients, with the treatment experience for life altering specialty medications from commercialized to the new and novel treatments. In that time, specific medications or projects have stood out and highlighted the impact our team members have achieved in the life sciences space.
We have worked across nearly every therapeutic area and in markets across the world with the goal to help patients understand, start, stay, and adhere to their treatment plan. Here is a small sample of partnerships that have had a lasting impact on the team:
Oncology – Driving awareness around maintenance in aggressive blood cancer
“I worked with a drug manufacturer’s global branding team on finding pain points and moments that matter in the patient treatment journey across their core markets for an oral maintenance drug for Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is a very aggressive type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow with excess immature white blood cells that is usually found in an older patient population. This was my favorite project to date, because of the lack of awareness around maintenance therapy for AML patients’ post-remission and the global scale of this project.” – Hanna J.
Rare Disease – Finding the commonality in a global patient experience
“The most impactful project I have worked on is probably for a Beta-Thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, treatment blueprint that we included 44 stakeholders from 11 markets to align on the common path and highlight key country deviations” – Alicia S.
“There are a lot of excellent drugs out there that have moved the needle on quality of life and life expectancy. A rare few have had such a profound and drastic impact on a patient’s condition that they and their family can dream again of a future together. I worked on one such drug in the rare disease space. Whereas many children born with severe versions of the disease would end up chairbound for life or worse, deceased, this client’s drug allowed children not just to survive past infancy but to also to live normal, healthy, and full lives. Our project helped the manufacturer explore how they could help patients and their families meet treatment monitoring requirements at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the whole project, I was driven by my imagination of what it would be like if my own future son or daughter had the disease, and how I could best help our client do right by them. This was by far the most meaningful project I’ve had the privilege of working on at Nuvera” – John V.
“My favorite project is the treatment experience blueprint we created for the specialty medication to treat Desmoid Tumors, a rare disease. It’s my favorite for three reasons: 1) The emerging BioPharma company we partnered with is launching its first medication and enterprise brand to the market. A successful launch is imperative and the blueprint helped them identify potential gaps and enhanced cross-functional collaboration; 2) The challenges facing patients, care partners, and providers that we identified in the blueprint were validated by primary patient market research and also patient/provider advisory boards; 3) The insights gathered influenced the design of the patient support programs, which will help thousands of patients who have experienced long and isolating journeys to diagnosis and treatment. “ – Bonnie H.
Health Equity – Creating frameworks to care for and see the unseen
“I had the opportunity to work with a large pharmaceutical company looking to capture and crystalize measurable goals around their foundational stance on health equity. Often times when we examine the continuum of care for patients, we examine their clinical needs and not factor the societal and structural barriers that affect their access and adherence to therapy. Working on this project has allowed me to gain key insights on the myriad of factors that affect patients’ access to care and the challenges associated with moving the needle towards greater equity within the healthcare space. Gaining the opportunity to develop frameworks and approaches that seek to integrate data and cross-functional collaboration can not only meet significant unmet needs but also boost the level of trust within marginalized communities- leading to better outcomes.” – Nic C.
Patient Care – Expressing their voice in the treatment experience
“My favorite projects are the ones where I get to interact directly with patients or caregivers and pressure test our treatment experience blueprint outputs through co-creation. Throughout my time at Nuvera have had the benefit of doing this in Rare Respiratory, Rare Neurology, Oncology, and Diabetes amongst others. The ability to capture and infuse the patient voice into our work is something I will always be appreciative of and in awe of.” – Farris I.
“I enjoyed the patient ad board we did for a small pharmaceutical company. We had a chance to hear directly from patients to better understand their unique perspectives as they pertain to a specific disease state. This kind of intel is incredibly valuable when we are designing support offerings. Each therapy is unique and nothing brings that home like the voices of patients.”
Cell and Gene – Getting it right in a complex environment, when the person is the product
“One of the most interesting projects I’ve had the pleasure of working on was an international blueprint project involving a cell and gene product. It provided valuable insights into the distinct timelines and regulatory frameworks for drug approval across different countries/markets. Witnessing the contrasting rules regarding information dissemination and manufacturer-customer engagement was particularly fascinating.
This project entailed a comprehensive and intricate blueprint with multiple timelines, reflecting the complexity of the endeavor. However, the significance of this project cannot be overstated, as it greatly assisted the client in their preparations for product launch in diverse markets. Serving as an invaluable guiding tool, the blueprint enabled them to effectively navigate various resources and internal preparations. Engaging in this project was not only intellectually stimulating but also immensely rewarding, as we were able to contribute to our client’s success in global market expansion.” – Emma Z.
“The most impactful project I have worked on so far was developing a fertility support offering for a cell & gene therapy product due to the conditioning phase for the therapy resulted in patient infertility. To combat this, the goal was to provide an opportunity for patients to maintain their reproductive ability through alternate means. It was really inspiring to be involved in a solution that has the potential to truly change someone’s life and hopefully reduce some of the burden caused by that aspect of the treatment decision. My hope is that one day this program helps a patient feel like someone is looking out for them and cares about their future, that once they get through therapy, they have all the opportunities they had beforehand. Perhaps, this solution may even become a precedent for future therapies.” – Lindy V.
“I’ve had the fortune to work on the first CAR-T therapy that was commercialized which paved the way for all cell and gene therapies after that. This therapy was for a pediatric oncology indication and probably the last hope for very sick children.
We helped the product team understand the pain points patients, caregivers and physicians will face from when a patient is identified as a candidate for this therapy through manufacturing, administration, and post-treatment monitoring. As a next step, we helped design the operational support for orders and develop some of the key enablers to bring the order process to life.
The Cell and Gene space has come a long way since then by understanding what worked and what didn’t and evolving the operational model to provide patients and physician exactly what they need – I’ll always be really thankful that I had some small part to play in this!” -Deepti AK.
