Dean Erhardt: Pharma Strategy, Distribution & Commercial Growth

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Life Science Success Podcast my guest is Dean Erhardt, President and CEO at D2 Solutions. He brings more than 20 years of experience across pharmaceuticals and consumer products, with expertise in support program development, distribution, and specialty product management, and has worked with over 100 pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device manufacturers as well as many small and midsized organizations on commercial operations, strategy, and national accounts.00:00 Intro00:34 Dean's career: HMO, Cardinal Health, Express Scripts03:00 Founding D2 Solutions in 200804:00 Pricing strategy and middlemen taking 50–70% of revenue08:00 What separates successful commercialization from failure10:00 D2's three pillars: distribution, reimbursement, patient services15:00 Pharmaceutical support programs for specialty medications16:00 D2's digital patient engagement platform in action21:00 Resource challenges for small and mid-sized pharma22:00 Retail deserts and the rise of direct-to-consumer models24:00 National accounts strategy and long-term payer relationships26:00 When to engage D2 and cleaning up commercialization missteps28:00 The prior authorization crisis31:00 Leadership advice: one vision, said a million times32:00 AI, remote surgery, and the future of care34:00 Looming shortage of 3.9 million healthcare workers36:00 Concerns: aging population, lost patients, NIH funding37:00 Technology accelerating drug approvals38:00 Outro