Healthcare at Home launches Sciensus Rare to connect emerging biotech and large pharma companies with rare disease patients in Europe and beyond

Healthcare at Home launches Sciensus Rare to connect emerging biotech and large pharma companies with rare disease patients in Europe and beyond

Burton Upon Trent, UK, 10th November 2020: Healthcare at Home today unveils a dedicated new rare disease medicines services business: Sciensus Rare.

Sciensus Rare launches with two main aims: to ensure that patients and their families have access to the rare disease medicines and care they need, and to help biotech and pharmaceutical companies safely launch and efficiently deliver vital medication, no matter where a patient lives or the regulatory governance of that country.

The business will continue to help emerging, mid-sized, and major biotech and pharmaceutical companies gain market access in Europe and beyond, expanding Healthcare at Home’s existing rare disease and orphan medicines services further geographically and by therapy area, across five main services:

-          Clinical trials in the home

-          Medicines access

-          Bespoke supply chain management

-          Patient and family support

-          Outcome monitoring in the home

According to Eurostat, the market for rare disease pharmaceutical medicines services is expected to more than double in size over the next few years, growing from €1.6bn in 2018 to €3.3bn in 2025, as the number of products requiring more complex services to support them grows. Sciensus Rare aims to meet the growing demand by creating a unique, science-led approach to help pharmaceutical partners reduce time to market for innovative, high cost, new medicines in a rapidly changing marketplace, helping to eliminate unnecessary costs and inefficiencies in the drug development process.

Gareth Williams, President of Sciensus Rare, said:

“The global pandemic has accelerated the need for bespoke patient-centred services which are required for products in drug development and commercial phases as many rare disease patients can’t or won’t travel long distances to take part in clinical trials away from home.

“Our aim is to help emerging biotech firms which have a strong presence in their home market but little or no international distribution or commercial infrastructure, as well as the established pharma companies seeking access to treatment for patients with unmet needs”.

Sciensus Rare’s services build on Healthcare at Home’s three decades of experience in treating rare disease patients. In that time, the business has treated more than 52,000 patients at home, and collaborated with over 20 rare disease pharmaceutical companies and over 4,000 healthcare providers in mainland Europe. BioMarin, which specialises in developing and commercialising biopharmaceuticals for rare diseases driven by genetic causes, has been working with Healthcare at Home since 2006 and now sees a quarter of its global sales delivered through this model.

Guy Eggleton, Executive Director Sales and Marketing Operations EUMEA, at BioMarin, said:

“Sciensus Rare has tremendous potential to build on its significant experience in rare diseases to become the global expert in helping businesses like ours connect rare disease patients and healthcare providers with effective, innovative new treatments for rare conditions.”

The need to develop and provide access to safe, effective medicines is most acute in rare diseases, many of which are genetic and affect younger patients. Sciensus Rare aims to support the identification of the patients who would benefit from access sooner by providing new ways of treating patients at home, in line with the highest care and regulatory standards that Healthcare at Home is recognised for.

Williams concluded:

“The ‘one size fits all’ approach to rare and orphan managed medication services, with no clear integrator of drug development through to commercial services is now outmoded and redundant. With many new therapies coming to market from a burgeoning pharmaceutical research and development side, it is clear to us that there is a role for a different kind of bespoke managed pharmaceutical services provider that puts the needs of the patient at its heart regardless of where the therapy is in its lifecycle.”

The Sciensus Rare name will replace Healthcare at Home’s Rare Disease Medicines Service.