Pharma Sales 2.0

I’ve been hearing a lot about ReachRX, a new app that aims to provide streamlined access to brand-name prescription medication in real-time using an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered clinical search engine backed by ChatGPT. I was intrigued and reached out to ReachRX co-founders, Jeff DeVico and Patrick DePippo, to learn more about this technology and how it is helping make sure that our patients get the medications they need.

What is ReachRx?

Jeff DeVico: We connect medical practices with the necessary resources to get their patients the best treatment possible. Prescribing branded medications is complex. There are tons of moving parts that place a huge administrative burden on everyone in a practice. Pharma spends billions of dollars each year sending sales reps door-to-door to educate medical practices, but they struggle to reach doctors. ReachRX makes prescribing branded medications easy by providing a simple interface to gather information on treatments, patient access, and pharma support in one place. Practices can request samples with the click of a button, find and message their sales reps, and even get answers to clinical questions with our chat-GPT-powered search engine. This saves practices time and allows patients to get on the best treatment more efficiently.

Explain how ChatGPT/AI can work together to provide this up-to-date information.

Patrick DePippo: Generative AI is going to transform the healthcare industry. One application we are particularly excited about is the ability to access and synthesize information across disparate sources of unstructured data. ChatGPT is an amazing application but has a few shortcomings that will hamper its adoption within healthcare--primarily the fact that data are not up to date. Users can’t control which data are being referenced, and validating answers can be time consuming.

That is where ReachRx comes in. We have built a clinical search engine that allows users to access the latest information on disease states, and treatments, as well as on- and off-label uses. We leverage generative AI, ensure data are always up to date, and make sure sources are easily verifiable and of a high quality.

Where did the idea come from?

Mr. DeVico: I was a specialty sales rep selling a life-changing medication in Manhattan for more than eight years. I was in a unique position where I had direct access to patients, saw the journey from start to finish, and experienced firsthand how manufacturers can positively impact a patient’s life. However, year after year, I found it harder to get the necessary time I needed with healthcare providers to educate them on my product. When that happens, patients are ultimately the ones who suffer. I had to get creative and often found myself sneaking into hospitals through loading docks just to try and catch a doctor in a hallway for 20 seconds. I knew there had to be a more harmonious way to communicate with doctors.

A popular trope we heard at a bunch of our practices was that reps are there when you don’t want them and never there when you need them. With that in mind, we built an easy way for practices to search for their rep (by drug, company, or name) and message them in a HIPAA-compliant way that hides their personal phone number.

As our user base grew, we found that the most important thing to users was speed. Oftentimes, when practices reach out to reps, they are with a patient and need information quickly, so we set out to build tools that would allow practices to get this information without human intervention and then bring in a sales rep when they needed it.

Why did you decide to start rolling ReachRx out in dermatology?

Mr. DeVico: Dermatology has been a perfect fit for several reasons. For starters, as a child, I was a dermatology patient who struggled with severe acne. The knowledge and support the whole practice showed me left a lasting impression, and I hope to pay it forward in any way I can by making it as easy as possible to get patients proper treatment. Dermatology is also an extremely exciting, tech-enabled specialty with tons of new drug development and clinical advancements. When you combine that with sophisticated devices and non-prescription products, there are a ton of different treatments that healthcare professionals need to be aware of. We believe that makes it the perfect therapeutic area for us.

How can this technology help a dermatology practice?

Mr. DePippo: We recognize that everyone in a dermatology practice plays a crucial role in ensuring that patients get access to treatments. Our pharmaceutical partners call this a “total office call,” where sales reps are responsible for ensuring everyone in the practice is educated on the nuances of the product so that when that prescription gets written, the practice has all of the information it needs. Whether that’s a prescriber asking, “What is the renal dosing of Cibinqo?” a biologic coordinator checking step-therapy requirements, or a medical assistant pulling up patient enrollment forms, we want to ensure every individual in a practice can access all of the treatment information they need on demand. We’ve seen this technology save practice hours of time each week and get patients on therapy faster and cheaper.

What can we expect to see from ReachRx in the next five to 10 years?

Mr. DeVico: In five to 10 years, we plan to be helping all dermatology practices (as well as a few other specialties) easily access branded medications. We will be the preferred and trusted way for practices to access the latest information on treatments, products, and disease states. On the life sciences side of the equation, we will be their dedicated customer success platform for interacting with their customers. This will ultimately drive patient satisfaction, make lives easier, and make bringing drugs to market significantly cheaper.

Disclosures: Dr. Patel has no relevant disclosures to report. Jeff DeVicoand Patrick DePippo are co-founders of ReachRx.