Director/Sr. Director, Patient Support Programs

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Provide a strategic framework and guidance for the development, deployment, and ongoing enhancement of patient support and affordability programs.

• Design and sustain programs that encompass reimbursement support, case management, adherence and persistency, nurse educators, copay assistance, patient assistance programs (PAP), bridge services, and quick-start free drug initiatives.

• Formulate annual strategies and tactical plans for patient support in collaboration with Market Access and Commercial leadership.

• Monitor copay accumulators, maximizers, and Alternative Funding Programs, integrating their implications into program design, business rules, and gross-to-net planning.

• Negotiate and finalize agreements with patient support program vendors, including defining scope of work, business rules, service levels, and pricing.

• Track KPIs and SLAs, such as time to first fill, benefits investigation accuracy, prior authorization turnaround, adherence, persistency, and case closure rates.

• Facilitate quarterly business reviews with patient support program vendors.

• Manage daily operations of programs and vendor relationships, escalations, case-level issue resolution, and operational meetings.

• Create and uphold SOPs and work instructions across patient support and specialty pharmacy partners.

• Oversee patient assistance eligibility criteria, income verification, enrollment governance, annual review, and re-certification processes.

• Own reporting, scorecards, program utilization, and enrollment funnel performance; translate insights into actionable recommendations.

• Collaborate with Commercial Analytics and Finance on copay and free-goods forecasting, accrual support, and gross-to-net implications.

• Work alongside Marketing on materials related to patient support programs.

• Engage with Market Access, Trade and Distribution, Field Reimbursement, Sales, Marketing, Medical Affairs, Quality, Pharmacovigilance, IT, Legal, and Compliance teams.

• Ensure that workflows incorporate adverse event and product complaint intake, documentation, reporting, and vendor training requirements.

• Address challenges impacting patient access, product initiation, or continuity of therapy.

• Ensure adherence to company policies, HIPAA regulations, OIG guidance, and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

• Participate in company-sponsored meetings, trade shows, and industry conferences.

• Comply with company policies, procedures, and training mandates.

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

⛳️ Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree is required.

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in patient services, market access, reimbursement, or distribution within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology manufacturer.

• At least 2 years of experience managing external patient support, HUB, or copay vendor partnerships.

• Proven experience in launching a patient services HUB and/or supporting a specialty product launch.

• Strong knowledge of copay assistance, PAP, bridge and free drug programs, and financial support models is essential.

• Experience in pharmacy benefit product access is mandatory.

• Experience in managing teams and holding in-line leadership roles.

• A demonstrated understanding of healthcare compliance frameworks, including HIPAA, OIG guidance, and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

• Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time.

• Direct experience in building new patient assistance and patient support programs is preferred.

• Experience in the commercialization of rare diseases or orphan products is preferred.

• Familiarity with pulmonary hypertension, specifically WHO Group 1 and WHO Group 3 disease states, is preferred.

• Understanding of pharmacovigilance integration and compliant patient education practices is preferred.

• Experience with strategies to mitigate copay accumulators, maximizers, and Alternative Funding Programs is preferred.

• Financial acumen in budgeting, forecasting, and profitability management is preferred.

• Experience using CRM platforms and analyzing patient support performance metrics is preferred.

• Experience in a smaller or growth-stage biopharmaceutical setting is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive compensation package.

• Medical insurance.

• Dental insurance.

• Vision insurance.

• Short-term disability (STD).

• Long-term disability (LTD).

• 401(k) Savings Retirement Plan.

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).

• Reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.