An independent reimbursement risk rating is a third-party assessment, on a fixed scale, of the risk that a drug is not reimbursed as intended — issued by an organization with no stake in the drug, the deal, or the answer. The three words each carry a test.
Independent
The rater is paid a fixed fee that does not depend on the grade or on any transaction, and applies the same method whoever asks. An assessment shaped by the party that benefits from its answer is not independent, however rigorous its analysis.
Reimbursement risk
Regulatory approval clears a drug for sale; reimbursement determines whether health systems pay for it, at what price, and for whom. That second gate is where launch plans and deal values are most often lost — and it is the risk this kind of rating measures.
Rating
A rating is a grade on a fixed, published scale, produced the same way every time, so that any two rated drugs can be compared. A bespoke report answers only for itself; a rating answers on a scale.
MARA Rating Company publishes such ratings for drugs: the MARA Rating, a letter grade on the A++ to C scale. Hundreds of dated ratings are in the public catalogue.