Bridging Borders: A Collaborative Approach to Improving MS Care
A world-leading pharma company needed to understand the MS patient journey across multiple countries. The gaps they found were invisible from any single market.
The challenge
Multiple Sclerosis can affect people early in life, beginning a potentially long patient journey with unpredictable progression. A world-leading pharmaceutical company — who wishes to remain anonymous — knew that the experience of MS patients differed significantly across the countries they operated in. What they didn't know was how, or why.
They needed a clearer picture of the specific challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers in different regions, the opportunities to improve support, and a way to get their international teams working from shared insight rather than separate assumptions.
What we did
We led a collaborative initiative across the client's international working groups, focused on gathering critical insight into local patient populations, healthcare provider needs, and potential cross-market opportunities.
Using proprietary collaboration tools, we facilitated data sharing and analysis across markets — drawing on perspectives from key opinion leaders, patient advocacy groups, and healthcare providers. The goal wasn't just a report. It was to give the client's teams a genuinely shared view of the MS landscape, and to change how those teams worked together.
International working group collaboration became the real focal point of the project. Different markets operate within different healthcare systems — but different systems doesn't mean cross-market support or shared learning is impossible. Progressive organizations need to do both.
What happened
One of the clearest outcomes was seeing teams from different countries begin sharing best practices and insights on patient support programs — leading to the development of a new initiative with the potential to improve quality of life for MS patients globally.
The project generated actionable insight into the MS patient journey that enabled the client to develop more effective support programs and improve patient engagement strategies. Beyond the immediate deliverables, it equipped the client with operational tools and ways of working that continued to benefit patients long after the engagement ended.
New processes, new tools, and a new habit of cross-market collaboration. That's what made this one stick.
Contact
Interested in mapping patient journeys across your markets? Get in touch with Kenneth Salonius (kenneth@vertical.vc).