Strategic Access Lead at Roche

The Opportunity

• Roche Pharma is seeking a Strategic Access Lead to join their team in Johannesburg.
• This role is designed to develop and implement strategies that ensure timely and equitable access to our medicines. This involves engaging with key stakeholders across health systems, understanding market dynamics, and navigating regulatory landscapes. Your efforts will facilitate optimal pricing and reimbursement solutions, ultimately improving health outcomes for patients and reinforcing Roche’s commitment to innovation and patient care.

Key Challenges

Market Access

• Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders such as government bodies, healthcare professionals, payers, and patient advocacy groups to understand their needs and perspectives.
• HEOR & Value Demonstration: Conduct epidemiology research and demonstrate product value in terms of health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, supporting pricing and reimbursement discussions.
• Pricing Strategy & Market Analysis: Develop competitive pricing strategies aligned with local economic conditions, global pricing guidelines, and patient needs. Analyze market trends, barriers to access, competitor activities, and healthcare policy changes.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure market access initiatives comply with regulations in collaboration with the regulatory team for product approvals.
• Training & Internal Support: Train internal teams on market access strategies, integrating access-related content into patient journeys and professional interactions.
• Advocacy & Awareness Collaboration: Partner with patient organizations and advocacy groups to raise disease awareness and improve access to innovative therapies.
• Policy Advocacy: Influence health policies to improve access to medicines and contribute to national dialogue on policy reforms and decision-making.
• Access Initiatives: Implement programs to improve treatment access, including underserved populations, and explore reimbursement models to reduce health system burdens.
• Monitoring & Reporting: Track and report on health technology assessments (HTA), market access activities, and challenges to refine strategies and enhance patient access.
• Departmental Leadership: Champion innovation and best practices within the department while leading initiatives in focus areas such as pricing, reimbursement models, strategic stakeholder mapping, patient support, and digital solutions.

Launch Excellence

• Pipeline planning and access landscaping, work with the Pods to map new disease areas and quantify molecule potential.
• Co-create the new molecule map (1 slide snapshot of the market with key info regarding size, competitors, public and private reimbursement opportunity) with internal stakeholders (PJP, HSP, Medical etc.) 
• Collaborate with GPS on launch strategies and learnings from early launch countries.

Advocacy

• To build innovative market access solutions by researching global trends, analysing trends in the context of the specific environments, developing business models and testing solutions, engaging with experts, piloting solutions and managing implementation of successful innovations as required
• To develop and support access Policy shaping (internal and External).

Who You Are as an Ideal Candidate

Qualifications & experience 

• NQF 7-8 in health sciences related field
• At least 10 years experience in Pharma and/or Medical Scheme managed healthcare.
• 3 years market access experience. Additional experience in medical, sales and/or marketing will be advantageous. 

You Must have Knowledge of:

• Pharmaceutical industry including regulations and product knowledge
• Health systems legislation and regulations in South Africa
• Healthcare and Medical funding environment and Healthcare funding models 
• Pharmaco-economics and outcomes research would be advantageous
• Political environment and structures 
• Understanding of the NEMLC 
• In the absence of relevant qualifications, experience in the relevant field and at the relevant level will be considered.

Recommended Skills & Abilities 

• Healthcare Landscape/Stakeholders, Therapeutic Area, Pricing, Reimbursement, Partnership oriented mindset
• Analytical mindset, Project Management, Tender Process, Negotiation
• Strong entrepreneurial mindset with outstanding customer centricity
• Growth mindset, able to learn quickly, take risks and experiment
• Deep understanding of patient journey(s) and related Roche products 
• Excellent communication skills & customer engagement skills
• Systems thinker
• Strong cross-functional leadership within the organization and ability to drive and influence peers in complex (matrix) organization