Has achieving medical insurance/ coverage been a major factor in the adoption of new cell-based therapies?
A. Yes, thankfully, now Apligraf® is covered extensively by Medicare, Medicaid, and by 350 private payers. Obtaining that level of coverage took many years. When you’re in the middle of gaining acceptance, it seems like the process is as slow as molasses, but standards in medical care change very slowly. To early-stage companies, the process of achieving reimbursement is sometimes viewed as tomorrow’s problem. In my opinion, it’s absolutely vital to the viability of all companies in this industry. In fact, we have had projects terminated early in design control due to an unattractive health policy assessment. Achieving reimbursement for new types of therapies is a very complex process that can take up to 24 months after the product launch. For a new approach to medicine, it’s an extensive exercise that involves assigning procedure codes. For example, to treat any given surgical wound or heart defect, there are established, assigned medical procedure codes, driven by the time required a
