SetPoint Medical is rewriting the treatment of RA and the playbook for launching a first-in-class device with Courier Health

^{The Challenge}

A first-in-class therapy demands a first-of-its-kind pathway

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune condition that impacts over a million people in the US. For decades the treatment story has been the same: a lifetime of pharmacotherapy, drugs that lose efficacy over time, and constant switching between biologics. SetPoint Medical is changing that story.

“This is the first device to treat a disease that has historically been managed with high-cost specialty pharma drugs,” said Spencer Bailey, Vice President of Market Access at SetPoint Medical. “It is the first non-pharmacologic approach to treating RA with a novel mechanism of action and a form factor built for physicians and patients alike. To come in with a novel, disruptive therapy that is completely different, it's been incumbent upon us to air traffic control patients through this new referral channel.”

That's the reality of true innovation: there is no established pathway to borrow. Patients don't simply see a specialist and pick up a prescription; they move from inbound interest to rheumatology evaluation to surgical consult to surgery to therapy activation. It’s a multi-stage journey that spans rheumatologists, neurosurgeons, payers, and more, which SetPoint's Market Access and patient navigation teams help orchestrate end-to-end.

Healthcare continues to add administrative burdens on care providers – from prior authorization to care coordination. It is mandatory for us, as innovators, to acknowledge the complexity required to commercialize new therapies and to build the infrastructure to work collaboratively with insurers, physicians, and care teams to ensure a seamless patient experience. As a medical device company, our Market Access function plays a critical role in bridging the gap between regulatory approval and patient access. - Spencer Bailey

“We partner closely with providers to navigate coverage pathways, educate on prior authorization requirements, and support appropriate documentation,” added Spencer. “In parallel, our patient navigation program is designed to guide individuals through their care journey – connecting them with treating physicians and surgical specialists while addressing questions along the way.”

Spencer knew a robust patient management system would form the backbone of the program’s patient and provider engagement, and that the conventional options wouldn't cut it.

Legacy CRMs may be able to do “anything,” but that anything becomes a brittle customization for everything, and the cost (both literally and technically to change and maintain) becomes prohibitive over time.

“Today, there remains a lack of intuitive, HIPAA-compliant systems purpose built to support this level of coordination,” said Spencer. “Relying on spreadsheets is not only insufficient, but it also actively limits your ability to operate effectively and scale. Legacy tools do not meet the demands of today’s market. The industry is moving toward integrated, purpose-built platforms, and organizations that fail to evolve will fall behind.”

^{The Solution}

The first platform purpose-built for the job

SetPoint Medical selected Courier Health for its patient access and care coordination program, connecting its Market Access, patient navigation, and territory teams on a single system.

“Courier Health is the first to hit the market that is purpose-built for patient navigation and prior authorization. The user interface is aligned with the day-to-day realities of clinical and commercial teams, facilitating cross-functional engagement and improving overall execution,” said Spencer.

The partnership goes beyond initial implementation and deployment. The SetPoint team's feedback has helped shape the product roadmap, with the company regularly serving as early adopters of innovative new features, including AI summaries that help bring team members up to speed quickly on a patient case.

^{The Results}

The visibility a first-in-class launch demands

SetPoint's program hinges on end-to-end visibility, quality data capture, and enabling more streamlined coordination at scale.

With Courier Health, the team can see how providers are prescribing and engage them with targeted education. If we can be that catalyst to help understand what's going on with the patient and get them back in touch with their provider, that's a win,” said Spencer.

The critical benefits to the SetPoint team include:

• A clear source of truth on each patient’s journey
• Patient journey analytics surface exactly where and when patients stall so the team can support when it counts
• Visibility into plan performance to guide Payer strategy

The data flows beyond patient access, too, helping the team understand what demand is coming.

For Spencer and the SetPoint team, the throughline is conviction: a company willing to pioneer a new treatment modality should be equally willing to pioneer the infrastructure behind it.

“Courier Health is the next generation of life science patient navigation technology. Patients deserve access to this treatment, and administrative work cannot be a hurdle to that. We’re proud to be able to make these investments and to build a platform designed to function at scale."