Therapeutic Area Lead: Gi/Ri at Takeda

Who we are looking for:

• We are currently looking for a strong healthcare profile with the right attitude to join our Medical team in the role of Therapeutic Area Lead: Gastroenterology (Gi)/ Rare Immunology (Ri).

Objectives of this role:

• Responsible for developing and managing the medical strategy for specific therapeutic areas (TA)/ brands and integration of this strategy into the brand plan\s.
• In-house scientific expert for the specific TA continually reviewing relevant and current scientific literature and providing up-to-date, fair-balanced product-related and clinical information relevant to the TA to internal and external stakeholders.
• Establish, develop and foster relationships with key external stakeholders through scientific discussions to facilitate and contribute to insight generation, in-depth understanding of the patient journey within specific therapeutic areas (TA) that eventually guides the creation of the medical plan which enables greater access and capability building across the treatment pathway.
• Assist the Head Medical Affairs in all matters related to medical governance and compliance within the medical function, by putting the patient’s needs and safety into focus.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Advanced scientific or clinical degree ex: MBChB; Master’s Degree in Life Sciences, PharmD, or Ph.D 
• Preferably 2+ years clinical practice
• Preferably 2+ years gastroenterology experience with established relationships in market.
• Preferably 2+ years of experience in driving and managing the medical strategy for various brands in the pharmaceutical industry

Accountabilities: 

• Key Opinion Leader (KOL) engagement, partnerships with professional societies & Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
• Education and training initiatives enabling early disease identification and optimal management to improve Standards of Care (SoC)
• Deliver medical / scientific messages relating to product data and disease to selected Key Opinion Leaders identified through stakeholder mapping and according to defined stakeholder engagement plans.
• Partnerships and scientific support to develop Centres of excellence (CoE)
• Global partnerships through preceptorships, & scientific engagements to enhance skills and capability across the healthcare system
• Clinical trial opportunities to drive early experience and advance patient access to medicine pre-registration
• Support and drive Real world evidence (RWE) data generation (internal and external data)
• Contributing to the organization through medical expertise:
• Apply scientific expertise and customer (patient and prescriber) insights to contribute to the development of the Brand Strategy and develop a Medical Plan for each assigned product.
• Ensure excellence and timeliness in implementation of the therapeutic area specific medical plans
• Establish scientific engagement plan aligned with the TA medical Plan to guide in-field activities (e.g. scientific platform content, presentation of new data)
• Formulate strategic KOL/Stakeholder engagement plans to inform and assist in evaluating innovative ideas in development of the medical strategy
• Evaluate execution of plans on an ongoing basis and adapt where necessary to improve
• Respond to unsolicited requests from HCPs for medical information (including off-label information) related to marketed Takeda products and Takeda pipeline products
• Review and approve promotional materials as per Takeda policies
• Develop medical/scientific materials and slide decks as needed (e.g. Advisory board slides) and ensure the content is appropriately reviewed and approved as per Takeda policies
• Support scientific training of internal stakeholders and provide ongoing support and education as needed
• Building capabilities:
• Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge of the TA by reviewing the literature, engaging in ongoing scientific exchange with KOLs and other external stakeholders, attend relevant scientific congresses
• Develop a TA specific scientific engagement plan aligned with the TA medical Plan to guide in-field activities (e.g. scientific platform content, presentation of new data)
• Deploy effective measures to complete tasks within time frame
• Collaborate and participate in cross functional teams to work towards achieving objectives set out in brand plans at a local and regional level where required.
• Managing and Engaging External Stakeholders:
• Have a clear understanding of external stakeholder mapping, which will enable development of appropriate and relevant relationships and build networks to meet business objectives
• Work with key stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the patient journey and how it may evolve in the future
• Drive Scientific leadership through facilitation of meetings & events with clinical experts to strengthen capacity, improve referral pathways and provide higher quality of care
• Be customer centric in all actions, listening to spoken and implied feedback and responding in a timely manner
• Complying with external regulations and company policies for a best-in class medical contribution for the patients and TA:
• Have a good understanding of global and local regulations and company policies and how to conduct all activities within that framework
• Ensure that all scientific-medical communications are fair-balanced, based on appropriate scientific evidence, and compliant with local regulatory norms and internal compliance policies
• Prioritize patient safety by following all Pharmacovigilance (PV)-related processes
• Assist the Medical Affairs Head in proactive risk management and recognize when appropriate actions need to be put into place or highlighted
• Always uphold the Company’s reputation
• Responsibilities relating to Health System Strengthening (HSS), Patient Services and Patient Advocacy:
• Support and identify Healthcare System Strengthening initiatives and projects
• Provide local, operational support for the Patient Services function, specifically Patient Support Programs
• Interact with, develop and support Patient Advocacy groups and Advocacy initiatives
• Other duties include:
• Provide timely, accurate and balanced answers to unsolicited medical enquiries when required
• Collaborate with Regional and Global Medical Information
• Liaise with Clinical Research Organisations (CROs) and other vendors for Takeda sponsored global studies as appropriate
• Collaborate with Global Development Operations functions (e.g. LOC Support)
• Deliver medical strategy and allocate spend associated with this investment and use of resources to implement strategy
• Track/monitor field medical activities in align with activity specific KPIs
• Review of promo materials and creation of non-promotional materials/ programs to ensure they are on strategy, meet regulatory and internal SOP requirements
• Evaluate profile of KOLs utilizing objective, pre-approved scientific criteria to ensure    selection of KOLs, and associated engagement plans and actual engagements are in line with brand strategy and compliance framework

General

• All employees are accountable for responsibilities stated in standards/SOPs for which training has been completed or included in employee’s training matrix

Core competencies

• Foster and sustain a valued continuum of professional interchange with major external stakeholders, & their organisations to advance scientific, medical and patient care excellence.
• Integration of the latest scientific and medical knowledge together with likely future developments to identify needs and then create solutions to build capabilities within the healthcare system
• Lead the development and approval of clear and practical plans that will assist this transformation

Business skills and knowledge

• Communication (verbal and written) skills,
• Ability to form a balanced opinion considering a wide range of medical and scientific information

Other requirements:

• Own vehicle that can be used for business.
• Required overseas and local travel from time to time
• Time spent in field, relationship management, insights gathering and calling on Key Account Leader in both Public and Private is split 50% in field and 50% Office Based