Direct-to-Patient: Biopharma’s Next Strategic Channel

Biopharma is at a crossroads. With policy shifts reshaping economics, Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) dynamics restricting access and patients demanding consumer-grade experiences, the old playbook for patient access is under strain. And as industry leaders launch direct-to-patient (DTP, D2P) programs, we’re seeing this model shift from experimental to essential. DTP is a seamless, strategic pathway for brands that want to take more control over patient engagement and preserve long-term brand value.

For biopharma leaders focused on patient acquisition, brand growth, and lifecycle management, the implications are profound. DTP has the potential to accelerate time to therapy, improve adherence, and future-proof engagement strategies in ways traditional channels can’t. Momentum is building across the market, driven by regulatory, payer and consumer forces, making DTP less of a “what if” and more of a “what’s next.”

What Is Direct-to-Patient?

At its core, DTP enables biopharma to deliver therapies directly to patients, bypassing or complementing retail and specialty pharmacy networks. The model typically includes prescription intake and processing, patient-facing digital portals, fulfillment and shipping and ongoing clinical or engagement support.

Why Does DTP Matter Now?

While the concept isn’t new, several converging forces are accelerating adoption:

• IRA & Rebate Reform: Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) pricing pressures are forcing biopharma to rethink rebate-driven models, pushing DTP as a sustainable alternative. Check out our webinar, The Inflation Reduction Act: What to Watch Following the First Round of Medicare Price Negotiations, to learn more.
• Cost & Insurance Complexity: High-deductible health plans, lack of coverage and formulary complexity may restrict access or otherwise discourage patients from seeking care. DTP offers a direct path to therapy when traditional routes are blocked.
• Consumer Expectations: Patients want digital-first care, price transparency and seamless home delivery, and they’re willing to switch providers or channels to get it.
• Therapy Fit: Lifestyle and “specialty-lite” therapies (e.g., weight management, dermatology, migraine, hormone therapy) that are self-administered and widely recognized are especially suited for DTP.

Taken together, these dynamics make DTP a strategic lever for medication access, while reshaping how brands build patient loyalty in a healthcare system still dominated by intermediaries.

Who Should Consider DTP

Granted, not every brand will benefit equally from a DTP model. For some, DTP unlocks new growth and deepens patient relationships; for others, the lift may outweigh the benefits. The brands best positioned to succeed share common characteristics:

• Specialty-Lite Therapies: Categories with high consumer awareness and self-driven demand, like dermatology, weight management, or migraine.
• Brands in Competitive Therapeutic Areas: Where patients can easily switch therapies, DTP helps brands build stickier, more direct relationships.
• Self-Administered Therapies: Oral and injectable products that patients manage independently align perfectly with digital-first delivery models.
• Access-Challenged Brands: Whether payer coverage is limited, PBM contracts restrict access, or a drug is approaching loss of exclusivity (LOE), Direct-to-Patient (DTP) creates a critical continuity channel, offering brands a way to maintain engagement and potentially extend the product lifecycle.

Among brands that align, success isn’t guaranteed. For marketing, access and commercial innovation leaders within these organizations, then, the real question isn’t if DTP fits, it’s how to deploy it as a competitive differentiator.

What to Look for in a Partner

Part of that competitive differentiation is ensuring your brand has the right partners in place. As more players enter the DTP space, your partners can make the difference between a scalable growth engine and a short-term experiment.

As you’re evaluating partners, it’s critical to look beyond operational efficiency, with an eye on partners that can help build a foundation of patient trust. Ensuring your brand stays relevant is essential in an increasingly direct, digital-first ecosystem.

With that in mind, biopharma leaders should evaluate partners based on six core criteria:

1. National Reach and Scalability: Can the dispensing network support diverse geographies and patient populations without delays
2. All-in-One Simplicity: Does the partner manage intake, fulfillment, patient portals and support in a single turnkey solution, or will you need to manage multiple vendors?
3. Pharmacy-Led Expertise: Is the model built on deep pharmacy operations and compliance, not just tech-first convenience?
4. Customizable Experience: Can the platform or partner translate the vision of your patient's journey into reality using branded portals, tailored communications and flexible workflows?
5. Data and Insights: Does the solution provide real-time visibility into dispensing, shipping and engagement to inform brand strategy?
6. Clinical and Patient Support: Are trained staff available to answer questions, manage adherence and drive therapy success?

By considering this key criteria, brands can push beyond operational efficiency and medication delivery, creating deep patient connections, supporting providers and preserving long-term brand value.

The Strategic Value of DTP

Seeing DTP as more than just enhanced access is essential. Done right, DTP models are comprehensive engagement strategies that cut through the clutter and deliver significant value to patients and biopharma brands. Often oriented around PBMs, payers, and intermediaries, DTP gives brands an opportunity to own the relationship with patients—something that, until now, was a rarity.

Increasingly, brands are recognizing that DTP isn’t just a solution for individual products, but a strategic lever that can be deployed across an entire biopharma portfolio to drive continuity, expand access, and strengthen patient engagement at scale.

The benefits of DTP reach beyond connection, and a strong strategy can also deliver:

• Brand Control: Once the prescription has been placed, brands have end-to-end control of the patient journey, from education to adherence support.
• Data Transparency: Provides real-time insights into dispensing and engagement that fuel better patient programs and smarter commercialization.
• Patient Loyalty: Offers convenience, transparency, and support to deepen relationships that traditional channels dilute.
• Future-Proofing: Builds scalable infrastructure for an industry rapidly shifting toward hybrid and digital-first care.

A Smarter Path Forward

DTP is gaining momentum, but this shift isn’t about replacing traditional pharmacy models. It’s about expanding options where medication access is at risk. Traditional pharmacies remain essential partners in patient care and will continue to play a critical role. However, evolving policy pressures, formulary exclusions and PBM restrictions often create barriers that can delay therapy or disrupt adherence.

This is where CoverMyMeds Patient Direct complements existing channels. By creating a pharmacy-led, patient-focused pathway, brands can help ensure patients receive the medications they need when traditional routes are limited. Rather than a one-size-fits-all solution, our model is built around key capabilities designed to address today’s challenges:

• Pharmacy-Led Expertise ensures compliance, safety and credibility in every interaction
• All-in-One Biopharma-Grade Solutions integrate prescription intake, branded portals, fulfillment and clinical support into a single streamlined experience
• Patient-Centric Design delivers discreet home delivery, flexible payment options and branded digital touchpoints that support therapy adherence
• Scalable Infrastructure gives brands national reach with HIPAA-compliant workflows and access to real-time dispensing and engagement data

The goal isn’t to disrupt what’s working but, instead, to provide a strategic alternative when traditional access falls short. DTP opens opportunities for brands to strengthen patient connections, accelerate therapy initiation and build infrastructure that supports the industry’s digital-first future.

The reality: DTP isn’t experimental anymore. It’s becoming a strategic imperative. Brands that evaluate where it fits within their broader access strategies today will be better positioned to preserve patient continuity, deepen engagement and safeguard long-term growth.