HIRC's Account Manager Performance report benchmarks 30+ pharmaceutical manufacturer account management teams based on managed care customer evaluations of skills and overall quality. The report provides insights into critical account manager success factors, as well as customer perspectives and expectations. The report addresses the following questions:

• Which very large, large, and mid-size pharmaceutical firms rank highest in account manager presence and quality?
• How do manufacturers benchmark across ten account manager core and consultative competencies?
• Which core and consultative skills are most important for account managers to demonstrate? What opportunities exist for improvement?
• How do pharmaceutical firms benchmark in engagement and quality ratings across health plan pharmacy director, health plan medical director, and pharmacy benefit manager managed market segments?

Key Finding: Account managers have an opportunity to enhance partnerships with payer decision-makers in 2026 by further establishing their role as trusted, valued advisors.

Lilly Ranks Highest in Account Manager Presence & Quality Across Managed Market Segments. Lilly achieves the highest overall account manager presence and quality score across managed markets panels in 2026. Among very large manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer follow as leading performers. Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Boehringer Ingelheim are top performers in the large manufacturer cohort, while Biogen, Bayer, and Organon lead in the mid-size manufacturer segment.

HIRC calculated manufacturers' overall account manager score based on managed markets customer evaluations of account managers in two key categories:

• Presence: Ability to rate the account manager
• Quality: Overall quality of the account manager

The full report provides presence & quality scores for the complete listing of 30+ firms.

Leading Account Management Teams Excel in Both Core and Consultative Competencies. In addition to overall presence and quality metrics, managed markets key decision-makers assessed account manager performance across ten critical core and consultative account manager skills. The highest performing account managers distinguish themselves through a deep understanding of customer needs, strong positioning as trusted advisors, and a consistent personable & engaging approach.

Pfizer and Lilly consistently lead in performance across the most important skills to managed markets customers. The full report details account manager performance across 30+ pharmaceutical manufacturers. Additionally, benchmark data is segmented by the following:

• Commercial Health Plan Pharmacy Directors
• Commercial Health Plan Medical Directors
• Pharmacy Benefit Manager Executives

Research Methodology and Report Availability. In January, HIRC surveyed 86 key decision-makers from leading commercial health plans and pharmacy benefit managers. Online surveys and follow-up telephone interviews were used to gather information. The Account Manager Performance report is part of the Best Programs and Best People Service and is now available to subscribers at www.hirc.com.