The Fair Market Value Data Provider of Choice
Cutting Edge Information (CEI) is a market research and data analytics company that specializes in collecting and analyzing global HCP fee-for-service FMV data. To CEI, delivering FMV data is not an ancillary function, but our primary focus.
To build our FMV product, our in-house team of statisticians and research analysts worked with life science industry experts to develop our unique, data-rich methodology. This market-based FMV approach includes a rigorous annual collection of industry FMV data and a proprietary statistical process (including blending with salary data, where reliable data are available), resulting in the most accurate FMV rates on the market.
Company History
Founded in 2002 as a market research firm providing syndicated and bespoke benchmarking products to the life sciences industry, CEI began its specialized work on Fair Market Value (FMV) in 2005 by benchmarking Healthcare Professional (HCP) speaker payments to determine if industry companies were paying competitive rates. Shortly thereafter, CEI was fortunate to have two of the largest pharmaceutical companies ask for assistance in developing specialist-specific FMV rates compliant with 2010’s Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA) in the US. Other organizations followed. Years later, those two companies remain key parts of CEI’s ecosystem of compliance relationships—and they have been joined by more than 300 additional organizations.
In 2014, CEI used its emerging FMV expertise and analytics capabilities to build a database of the actual rates used by the industry for HCP compensation. The true innovation was the source and reliability of the data, as this database was based on real-world, hourly rates set by life sciences companies themselves for use in HCP engagements. The first FMV payment rate product was launched in 2015 with 5,100 data points. We believe it was the first attempt to create a consistent worldwide FMV database using actual hourly rates paid to HCPs. Despite the limited data gathered, the product acceptance was near-immediate, with 56 clients accessing and using the 2015 database to set their own FMV rates.
The underlying statistical analysis was unique in its approach: it is a Learning Engine (LE) that grows smarter over time as more data is analyzed. Today, after years of improvements, that engine serves as a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that that leverages deep data to map market-specific FMV rates for hundreds of medical specialists in nearly every country around the globe.
In 2016, we performed a second, larger global survey that increased the data to 20,000 individual observations. Although the Learning Engine augments market data by incorporating variables such as salary by HCP specialty and Gross Domestic Product by country, it also uses over 200 possible predicting variables, including variations across geographic regions, medical specialties and physician tiering. Clients saw the value in this analytical approach, and our client group expanded to 84 companies.
The year 2017 saw the FMV database expand dramatically. The number of therapeutic area specialties increased dramatically to 61 from the initial 20. The sample size grew to 56,000 FMV data observations. CEI’s reputation in this area was also growing, and we reached 123 clients by the end of 2017. This period also marked a turning point in FMV rate management, as the pharmaceutical and medical device industries accepted CEI’s market-based approach for measuring actual payments over the previous, predominant method of using adjusted salaries.
In the subsequent years, our research, sample size, annual collection of rates, and market penetration have grown exponentially. By the release of our newest data in February 2025, our sample size included more than 230,000 observations from around the globe, 280+ HCP and Non-HCP specialties and roles, and 126 countries—a robust combination that paved the way for CEI’s FMV rates to be deployed by more than 300 clients. We are proud to offer rates in more countries, for more HCPs, and in far greater detail than any other provider in the industry.
Furthermore, we’re not a faceless information provider. Our FMV expertise enables us to address client challenges that range from the global level down to the smallest affiliates, and we walk clients through the difficult, sometimes overwhelming process of setting compliant yet competitive FMV rates across all regions and markets. We strive to help our clients make the best decisions for their teams and organizations, and we believe our data helps them do that.
Cutting Edge Information is the worldwide market leader in commercial FMV rates for the life sciences industry. We currently serve more than 70% of the Top 25 Pharmas, including 8 of the Top 10. To our knowledge, we are the only company with worldwide FMV rates that is specialty specific.
Company Headquarters
Cutting Edge Information is headquartered in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. RTP is the largest research park in the United States and a premier global innovation hub, located at the geographic center of three Tier-1 research universities. For more than a decade CEI has proudly called RTP home.