Jim Furniss is Director, Market Access Strategy at Bridgehead International. He has a detailed understanding of pharmaceutical policy, pricing and market access issues throughout Europe, North America and the rest of the world, and extensive practical experience of Company-Government relations in drug pricing and reimbursement and the management of pharmaceutical products.

Prior to moving into consultancy Jim was head of the Pharmaceutical Industry Branch in the UK Department of Health from 1991 to 1997. In this position, he was responsible for the operation of the UK Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and for the NHS drug budget for the UK. During this time he also represented the UK on pharmaceutical issues at the European Commission. He gained valuable experience in pharmaceutical price regulation across Europe as a member of the European Commission’s Pharmaceutical Pricing Transparency Committee. He also worked with Senator Pryor and the US General Accounting Office on international drug pricing issues.

Jim has spent more than 12 years in consultancy in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, for the last seven years with Bridgehead International. During this time he has worked on a large number of pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and market access projects, covering all major therapy areas. His work has been primarily focused on market access for new products in European and North American markets, and the development of payer value propositions and payer-focused market access strategies; but he has also worked on medical devices and diagnostics, and on the implications for pharmaceutical companies of broader pharmaceutical and healthcare policy developments. He has worked with all the major international pharmaceutical companies and many smaller companies. He is a regular speaker at international conferences on pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and market access issues and health policy issues.