BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE
Brian Abraham founded LARA Reimbursement Advisory in 2015 with 20 years of experience working in and with life sciences companies. LARA’s clients include device companies in respiratory, advanced imaging, and ophthalmology, along with biopharmaceutical companies in gene therapy, nuclear medicine, and neurology. Clients also comprise investment banks and consulting companies from a Top 5 accounting firm to specialized boutique shops in the areas of diagnostic and therapeutic reimbursement codes, product coverage, payment issues, drug pricing and contracting, evidence development, and reimbursement support. Brian also serves as an advisor to the Lifebridge Innovation Council and BioHealth Innovation in Maryland.
He is one of a few experts with a working knowledge of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) framework.
Before LARA, he was the Senior Director of Market Access & Reimbursement for a medical device company, leading its efforts to obtain coverage and payment for its innovative therapies for wound healing.
Brian has also worked with the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), a trade association representing imaging equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturers, where he worked closely with CMS and the US Food and Drug Administration on policy matters on behalf of the membership. At MITA, Brian worked in conjunction with decision makers from CMS, other government agencies, industry and academia in order to refine the evidence thresholds for advanced imaging procedures.
Before MITA, Brian headed up reimbursement for IBA Molecular (North America), including the development and implementation of reimbursement strategies for emerging radiopharmaceutical products subject to CED. Brian spent considerable time at MedImmune (now part of AstraZeneca) working on reimbursement, managed markets, and government relations for its vaccine, respiratory, and oncology products, among others.
Brian earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Government from the College of William & Mary.