Career Highlights
In 1986, Bill Leonard and Steve Stefano pioneered the development of Glaxo Pharmaceutical’s commercial strategy and field implementation for the US Payer Managed Care Markets. They both continued to lead this function for GlaxoWellcome and Glaxo SmithKline until 2010.
Their primary responsibilities were to ensure optimal formulary placement and reimbursement for the organization’s medicines through both private and public US Payers. In that regard, Leonard and Stefano addressed many payer changes inclusive of Health Insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) consolidation, the acquisition of PBMs by leading pharmaceutical companies (e.g. Merck, SmithKline, and Eli Lilly), as well as significant changes in both Medicare and Medicaid. During these changing times they developed keen strategic initiatives and tactical plans which were utilized successfully to ensure widespread payer access for the company’s leading brands.
In 2001 Bill Leonard and Steve Stefano engineered a landmark program – the creation of Glaxo SmithKline’s (GSK) “Orange Card” which created for the first time a drug benefit for GSK’s medicines for Medicare-eligible patients. Upon GSK’s establishment of the Orange Card, several companies followed leading to the creation of “Together Rx”. Subsequently, the Orange Card and Together Rx catalyzed the passage of the Medicare Part D Bill in 2006.
In 2010, after leaving GSK, Leonard and Stefano founded SynopiaRx (a US Payer consulting firm), which was acquired by Ashfield Healthcare of United Drug in 2012. In their roles as Managing Directors, they consulted with numerous pharmaceutical companies for the development of US Payer access strategies and field implementation. Subsequently, in 2024, Leonard and Stefano developed ReprizioRx which provides similar capabilities to pharmaceutical organizations.