Director, Medical Affairs

Company Description

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. The Guardant Health oncology platform leverages capabilities to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs across all stages of the cancer care continuum. Guardant Health has commercially launched Guardant360®, Guardant360 CDx, Guardant360 TissueNext™, Guardant360 Response™, and GuardantOMNI® tests for advanced stage cancer patients, and Guardant Reveal™ for early-stage cancer patients. The Guardant Health screening portfolio, including the Shield™ test, aims to address the needs of individuals eligible for cancer screening.

Job Description

The primary role of the Director, Medical Affairs (DMA) is to educate and develop academic key opinion leaders (KOL) champions with the most current study findings (abstracts and publications) supporting the clinical value of Guardant Health’s product(s). The DMA will co-develop the studies and publication strategies with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to develop the clinical evidence to achieve positive guideline and physician adoption, and payer coverage. The DMA plays a major role in abstract and publication creation, and in the development and creation of physician educational slides to be deployed in focused events (such as academic grand rounds or Continuing Medical Education (CME) lectures), and in training speakers/educators. S/he will build a team focused on strategic partnerships with NCI-designated cancer centers and large community-based oncology groups with clinical trials capabilities.

The DMA will be effective at translating data from research projects and disseminating key information through publications, and presentations at national meetings, CME and educational activities. The role of the DMA position also involves supporting strategic commercial partnerships, marketing and managed care; education and training of the sales team, and development of regional physician influencers to drive test coverage. The DMA is distinguished from the MSL role primarily by building/managing a team, strategic initiative and collaboration with other senior Guardant executives, and construction of studies and publications roadmaps that achieve corporate objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Identify, develop and/or maintain strong, collaborative working relationships with premier cancer center KOL champions, to promote understanding and adoption of our novel diagnostic technologies.
• In partnership with the Sales executives, identify and support strategic partnerships that include molecular tumor boards, report interpretation and registry support, and development of pertinent abstracts and publications based on registry data.
• Critically review and develop education slides based on new publications and research findings, for approval by Medical Affairs and Marketing.
• Support on-site oral presentations, data reviews, and interactive education events for KOLs, also known as “deep dive” or “VIP” visits to Guardant Health.
• Synopsize and educate key personnel regarding emerging abstracts and publications relevant to molecular testing.
• Assist the Medical Director(s) in agenda planning and meeting facilitation of Clinical Advisory Board(s).
• Identify and help draft study protocols and publication plans, including drafting/first authoring of multiple abstracts and publications with external KOL coauthors.
• Manage Medical Science Liaison and Clinical Oncology Specialist teams to develop KOL champions at NCI centers and large oncology group strategic partners.
• Lead in major investigator-initiated, multicenter studies that expand our indications through validation and outcomes assessment.

Qualifications

Education/Experience Required

• Terminal degree in a scientific field of study (Pharm.D., Ph.D., M.D. or Master’s Level with academic equivalent such as Associate Professor position).
• Clinical expertise or related experience in relevant specialties is highly desirable.  Minimum of 3-5 years of healthcare experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry.
• Experience working with experts at academic medical centers to build consensus around new products and/or services.
• Skilled team builder/manager.
• Successful publication as primary author or primary draftee of peer-reviewed publications.
• Track record of independent presentation at major academic centers resulting in product adoption.
• Material input and experience in study protocol design and documentation.
• Prior experience as an DMA in the introduction of a novel new clinical product is highly desired.

Technical Skills Required