Director, Diagnostic Lead, AMKD

Job Description

Director, Diagnostic Lead, AMKD

Vertex is seeking a strategic leader to join our US Kidney Business Unit to lead the execution of US commercial diagnostic initiatives to ensure rapid diagnosis, effective treatment, and improved patient outcomes for our APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD) program.

This role leads the US diagnostic team for the AMKD program, which is preparing for potential commercialization of an investigational therapeutic being studied for the treatment of AMKD. This role will recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing diagnostics marketing team as well as a diagnostics liaison field team.

This role will have ownership over the existing APOL1 sponsored genetic testing program and will develop the diagnostic launch strategy and ensure execution of patient finding and launch activities. In addition, this role will require coordination across all internal stakeholders to ensure alignment in the best practice of diagnosis, as well as overseeing internal resources responsible for managing external relationships with our companion diagnostic partner.

We are seeking a candidate that has a strong track record in US commercial diagnostic roles, demonstrated success in building teams, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, innovation-focused environment. This role reports to the Senior Director, Marketing, AMKD.

Key Responsibilities

Diagnostic responsibilities: this role will be responsible for developing and driving the implementation of the US go-to-market model around diagnostics, inclusive of disease awareness and programs necessary to support increase in diagnosis

• Develops the diagnostic strategy by identifying current diagnostic roadblocks and solutions to drive earlier patient identification, diagnosis and testing    
• Builds and leads diagnostic marketing team to create high impact diagnostic education/disease awareness materials that are aligned with the diagnostic disease awareness strategy, meet customer (professional and consumer) needs and are approved by the communications review committee
• Builds and leads diagnostic field team to execute on activities to increase diagnosis rate, in concert with other field teams (e.g. sales, MSL, external partner field teams)
• Develops and manages diagnostic programs, ensuring alignment with broader diagnostic go-to-market model and cost-effective approaches:
  • Manages APOL1 Sponsored Genetic Testing Program as well as companion diagnostics
  • Assesses potential benefit for additional solutions/programs, builds business cases and cross-functional alignment to
  • Ensures customers have appropriate tools to efficiently order tests as needed
  • Manages budget and external partners
  • Liaises with market access team to ensure test coverage as needed
• Develops and maintains expertise on diagnostic guidelines in the renal area and acts as subject matter expert to internal and external stakeholders
• Maintains a high degree of external focus with significant customer and field team engagement
• Participates in label drafting activities and provides inputs around diagnostic/CDX language
• Liaises with cross functional partners (medical affairs, patient advocacy, opinion leader programming) to ensure alignment and support for diagnostic priorities

Patient Finding Responsibilities: this role will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of appropriate patient finding processes in alignment with the diagnostic strategy

• Ensures alignment with cross-functional partners on HCP targeting strategies and integrated field teams (diagnostics, sales, medical, external diagnostic partners)
• Leads development of patient finding tools and solutions in collaboration with operational functions and legal/compliance
  • Leads development of predictive models or other solutions to identify HCPs managing at-risk patients requiring testing and ensures diagnostic field team outreach to facilitate prompt diagnosis
  • Leads development of data-driven dynamic HCP target lists/tools for the field team, aiming at highlighting HCPs managing recently diagnosed patients that may be candidates for therapy
  • Determines diagnostic data (claims/dx data) acquisition strategy and integration, ensuring the organization has access to relevant data to track the diagnostic journey
• Provides input into forecasting assumptions, both short term and long term, especially as it pertains to diagnostic and patient finding metrics.

Launch readiness and product strategy responsibilities: This role will be responsible for supporting launch readiness and product strategy activities across the organization, to ensure cohesive launch

• Supports brand lead to ensu