What have been the main highlights for RLDatix Life Sciences over the past year?

RLDatix Life Sciences is an integration of Porzio Life Sciences, iContracts, and iCoachFirst, with me heading the combined company as of January. The strategic union of the three companies allows us to be an all-inclusive solutions provider to the life sciences industry. RLDatix is a one-stop-shop offering comprehensive solutions to navigate critical operational and compliance challenges in the life sciences industry.

Our Porzio product suite offers a comprehensive compliance solution to life sciences companies, helping them with compliance research, data analytics, automated spend and price transparency reporting, and high-risk engagements in jurisdictions around the world. We have a price transparency reporting system. IContracts has developed a comprehensive suite of solutions to manage all aspects of a company’s critical contract processes, which include processing chargebacks, rebates, Medicaid rebates, Medicare GAP payments, other transactions, government pricing calculations, accruals, and managing federal and state compliance requirements at all levels. The only area IContracts and Porzio competed in was around price transparency reporting in the US, but we have now merged the two systems and the combined company does the state price transparency reporting utilizing the Porzio platform. iCoachFirst is a salesforce coaching and talent development platform that focuses on helping life science companies maximize the efficacy of their sales forces out in the field.

Are the healthcare and life sciences ecosystems poised to become more interconnected than they are today?

I believe that the healthcare and life sciences ecosystems will become even more interconnected. Major academic medical centers have been doing research for many years, but for the longest time, they would get the research to a certain point, and then license that intellectual property (IP) to traditional pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Today we are seeing a different approach: Instead of licensing the IP out, academia is partnering with the industry or even taking it to market themselves.

I believe New Jersey is at the epicenter of the convergence of the healthcare and life science ecosystem and innovation and technology, and we are seeing the emergence of the Health & Life Science Exchange (HELIX NJ), an innovation district providing industry, universities, and the state with the critical ecosystem to research, learn, work, and collaborate. Companies that were leaving New Jersey to set up in new emerging life sciences hubs are now returning as the state is investing in the future, a connected healthcare ecosystem that encompasses everything from proof of concept on drugs and devices through to development, marketing, sales, and distribution of the drugs and devices so that they can be utilized to provide better care.

What is your take on the state of the regulatory environment in the US?

There are regulatory burdens in the US, and part of it is the complexity that the life sciences, pharmaceutical drugs and devices, and biotech areas are regulated both on a state and federal level. The biggest area states are currently regulating life sciences companies is price transparency, as they are spending substantial amounts of money on pharmaceutical drugs, devices, etc., and want to understand why there are price increases. The many regulations and requirements for life sciences companies can be daunting for foreign companies coming into the US, but they can partner with RLDatix Life Sciences as we know the laws and regulations and can help companies on their compliance journey. Our solutions are built from the law and are focused on compliant commercialization, giving companies the ability to understand what they will have to do from a regulatory standpoint across the US.

What are RLDatix Life Sciences’ key priorities for 2024?

The Inflation Reduction Act is looking to add 20 to 25 new drugs a year, but President Biden wants to up that to 50. If you go from 20 to 50 new drugs a year, before long many of the everyday drugs you see on the market will be subject to price negotiations, and that will be a major issue moving forward. I believe the regulatory framework will continue to get more complicated as we move forward, and RLDatix Life Sciences’ focus will be to stay ahead of the curve, understand where the new laws and regulations are coming from.