National Accounts Manager (Pharmaceuticals)

The Asahi Kasei Group operates with a commitment of creating for tomorrow.  Our business sectors, Material, Homes, and Health Care, contribute to the development of society by anticipating the changing needs of those around the world. We look for candidates that offer a fresh perspective and a variety of skills to help us achieve our commitment.

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals is an Asahi-Kasei Group Company based in Cary, NC. Our purpose is to transform transplant medicine as the primary partner to the community of transplant healthcare providers and their patients; our focus is in developing new therapies and programs to help transplant healthcare providers and the patients they treat. Veloxis provides a dynamic and innovative place to work that encourages professional development and embraces diversity. We seek creative, intelligent, action-oriented, and passionate individuals who thrive in a collaborative team environment. If you are interested in being part of a patient-centric company, then we invite you to learn more about the employment opportunities available at Veloxis. Our success is tied to the contribution of every team member, which is why we provide a valuable and competitive compensation package that includes health and insurance benefits, training, and development opportunities, as well as performance-based bonus eligibility.

Company:

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Job Description:

The National Account Manager (NAM) is responsible for the access and reimbursement strategy and implementation aligned with the portfolio of AKT products creating profitable access and ensuring appropriate placement of AKT medicines on formularies, treatment algorithms, pharmacy policies and medical policies across PBM, Payer and Govt. customers. Payer customers may include, but not limited to, National Payers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Managed Care Organizations, Federal Accounts, Medicare plans, and Medicaid. The NAM serves as the lead point of contact for all AKT US related business within assigned account. The NAM is responsible for understanding the distinct market dynamics for securing and protecting the best and most profitable access for products and ensuring portfolio performance including pull through at the field level. When contracting is necessary to achieve profitable access, the NAM manages the contracting process, monitors contract performance, and identifies opportunities for adjustment.

The incumbent develops mutually beneficial relationships that align strategically to the business needs of the account and AKT, leading frequent and compliant discussions with key decision makers, and to manage, assess and, if appropriate, impact change of existing policies.  The NAM maintains up-to-date knowledge of the Company’s and competition's products, strategies, account priorities and the broader healthcare landscape while developing, maintaining, and executing account business plans that deliver on set business goals and objectives.

Close interaction, communication, and collaboration with other commercial, medical, and market access functional areas to shape strategy, maximize opportunity, and mitigate patient access and profitability risk are key to this role.

The base compensation range for this role is $200-220K. Base Compensation is influenced by many factors including, but not limited to: time in the role, previous experience, skills, knowledge, performance, work requirements, internal equity, and business / economic conditions.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

• Supports the development of the Company’s strategy and oversees all payer (PBM, Medicare, Commercial, Medicaid, and Federal Channel) access to the Company’s portfolio of products with the goal of removing payer restrictions and securing appropriate access aligned with the Company’s FDA approved label.
• Creates and executes customer specific strategies and tactics to support appropriate formulary placement and reimbursement across payer customers that lead to profitable access.
• Negotiates cost-effective, profitable contracts and terms, as appropriate, that allow access to the Company’s products, within established product pricing policy and GTN guidance and approved by the Company’s Pricing Committee.  Monitors contracts for continued value and renegotiates, as appropriate, through the contract lifecycle.
• Optimizes the Company’s product’s formulary positioning and increases product market share via leadership of collaborative pull-through initiatives with field sales and brand marketing.  Routinely reviews data (sales, trends, comparison, etc.) to identify pull-through opportunities and works with sales leadership to execute on aligned pull-through plans.
• Develops strong relationships with all trading partners including GPO/PBM/Payer in all channels including but not limited to Commercial, Medicare, Medicaid/340B and Federal Channel VA/DOD.  This includes timely interactions and QBR for all contracted and identified key accounts and semi-annually for all regional accounts.
• Becomes an expert on the assigned payer’s overall business models to understand their clients, and areas where their access landscape has variances in their membership.  Builds relationships with the cross functional team at all assigned accounts.
• Educates field team on payer access landscape and identifies criteria for coverage with PBMs that have the largest life coverage on their respective national formularies.
• Coordinates with field access teams, sales team, marketing (including market access marketing) and commercial operations to ensure that team members understand the overall access/reimbursement strategy. Supports field questions or issues that arise and provide solutions. Works with market access marketing to create any field collateral needed to support education and awareness around the Company’s product access.
• Shares internally key market trends/observations, best practices, and customer learnings to support the development and/or refinement of strategies and tactics.  Serve as the internal subject matter expert for the Company on all US payer dynamics.
• Conducts all business in accordance with company compliance guidelines and ensures compliance with relevant laws and regulatory mandates.
• Identifies and cultivates new opportunities within the PBM/GPO/Payer/Govt. channels to expand market presence and improve commercial outcomes.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum 8+ years pharmaceutical/biotech experience in NAM, KAM, or sales management with at least five years of experience in a market access role.
• Deep understanding and knowledge of the managed market dynamics, payer/PBM economics, and the key issues/shifts changing the US healthcare landscape. 
• Proficiency in VA/DOD and Medicaid preferred. 
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with and influence senior leaders and peers.  Good communication skills, both verbal and written. 
• Established relationships with Pharmacy Directors, Medical Directors, and other key personnel at key payer accounts. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of payer decision-making for formulary processes, coverage, coding, billing, pathway development and patient access to medicines. 
• Ability to be flexible and multitask among numerous demands.  
• Demonstrated ability to develop, communicate, and implement successful strategic initiatives. 
• Strong business acumen.  Experience in negotiating contracts and agreements.  Experience with Value Based Contracting in an orphan drug or specialty space desired. 
• Strong leadership skills, taking ownership in work streams, and exercising influence in the decision-making process among diverse functional and geographical areas and at all levels of management, with the ability to customize to market needs
• Proven ability in successfully managing complexity across multi-functional stakeholders and building strong relationships

Travel Requirements: Travel across the US required (~ 50%)

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As an equal opportunity employer, Asahi Kasei believes a diverse workforce will provide us with the ability to continuously support the changes in the economy, society, and environment.