Associate Director, Patient Engagement GDNF

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio)•US Remote NC, NC

3d•Remote

About The Position

This role is a secondment opportunity at AskBio, available for a time period determined by leadership at both Bayer and AskBio, typically ranging from one to two years. It offers a chance to broaden experience and contribute to AskBio’s mission of advancing gene therapy. The Associate Director, Patient Engagement will focus on building and leading US-based patient advocacy engagements and collaborations for central nervous system diseases, specifically Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). The primary goal is to cultivate positive relationships with patient communities, advocacy groups, and individual patients to understand their needs and ensure their voice shapes clinical development programs and decision-making processes. This role will lead US-based engagements with patient groups by setting strategy and leading execution to evolve disease and gene therapy understanding and education. This is a remote-based role in the United States.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in life sciences, healthcare, public health, or a related field.
At least 8 years’ experience in patient advocacy/engagement or closely related roles within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical healthcare industries.
Experience in Neurology and/or Parkinson’s Disease.
Understanding of drug development process, with an ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences.
Consistent track record of performance in developing and driving strategic projects, including leading budgets and demonstrating impact.
Proven ability to translate patient insights into actionable inputs for clinical development.
Excellent communication and social skills to engage with patients, advocacy groups, and internal collaborators effectively.
Demonstrated peer leadership experience and ability to inspire and motivate a matrixed team.
Deep appreciation for patients and their families, with a passion for advocating on their behalf.
Knowledge of regulatory and ethical considerations related to patient advocacy and engagement.
Passionate for making a difference in the lives of patients with serious and rare disease.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the interpersonal skills to interact and collaborate effectively with people, internally and externally.
This position will require significant travel to attend patient-focused meetings, conference and events, with flexibility to work outside standard business hours as required.

Nice To Haves

Ability to multitask among multiple projects and teams and work independently in a fast-paced, highly interactive environment.
Acute organizational skills with a strong attention to detail, clarity, accuracy, and conciseness.
Demonstrated ability to work with different personalities and styles efficiently and prioritize activities based on ambiguous or quickly changing information and environments is critical.
Familiarity/experience with regulatory and pharmaceutical legal promotional review processes.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement an external engagement strategy for PD and MSA programs aligned to internal business needs and external community needs.
Manage patient advocacy and external engagement to support AskBio’s development and commercial strategies in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).
Identify, develop, and cultivate trust-based relationships with patient advocacy and key patient/caregiver organizations consistent with the phase of development of AskBio clinical programs in CNS.
Be responsible for the development and execution of the PD/MSA medical affairs patient advocacy/external engagement plan and ensure its alignment with overall PD/MSA program goals and key deliverables.
Participate in and support patient organization events, workshops, and conferences to elevate gene therapy awareness and champion patient community engagement, as directed.
Participate as an active member of cross-functional study teams that are responsible for ensuring on-time recruitment and retention of participants for clinical studies.
Create and oversee quarterly community newsletter (AAVengers) for the community.
Communicate progress, metrics and milestone status for PD/MSA to leadership, R&D partners and others.
Engage with patient advocacy groups, foundations, and individual patients to understand their point of view and needs as it relates to patient-focused drug development.
Establish and maintain strong relationships with key collaborators in the patient community.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure patient perspective is internally understood and incorporated into company culture and patient needs are considered at all stages of product development.
Collaborate with Corporate communications and external agencies to develop patient/advocate awareness of AskBio science and clinical programs.
Manage standing patient council meetings and recruit and organize Patient advisory boards, focus groups, meetings as needed, in support of clinical programs.
Perform other activities as assigned by the VP Medical Affairs and senior management.
Work to cultivate a culture of appreciation for Patients as Partners within Askbio.
Collaborate with Integrated Product Team, Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, Legal, Compliance and Partner companies to ensure that core values and corporate brand are represented in internal and external initiatives.