Senior Director, GCS Early Pipeline and Business Development

Vertex Pharmaceuticals•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director or Director, GCS Early Pipeline and Business Development serves as the global commercial lead for two priority pre-clinical diseases in Vertex’s Sandbox. The role develops the commercial understanding needed to guide research choices, evaluate future assets, and support rapid, informed development decisions when a program is ready to enter the clinic. As the Commercial representative on the early Disease Strategy Teams (eDSTs), this leader owns commercial opportunity assessments and disease strategies, establishes a commercial north star and target product profiles, and provides recommendations on potential advancement. The position builds detailed views of current and future markets, including patient populations, treatment patterns, market evolution, competitive entry, pricing and access assumptions, and commercial potential by geography and patient segment. It leads market research, integrates scientific, clinical, market, and financial evidence, and defines the product characteristics and evidence needed for differentiation and commercial success. The role partners across Research, External Innovation, Development, Medical, Regulatory, Value & Access, BI&A, Finance, and regional Commercial teams, and supports evaluation of internal programs and external innovation opportunities. The position requires significant biopharmaceutical commercial experience in early pipeline strategy, new product planning, commercial assessment, portfolio strategy, business development, market research, forecasting, or related work, together with advanced scientific or medical training. An M.D. or Ph.D. in a relevant discipline is preferred. Formal commercial or business training, including an MBA, is valued but does not substitute for the required scientific or medical doctorate. The role is hybrid-eligible or on-site eligible. Hybrid employees may work remotely up to two days per week; on-site employees work five days per week on-site, with ad hoc flexibility. The position has a base salary range of $240,000–$360,000 and is eligible for annual bonus and annual equity awards. Vertex describes its benefits as including medical, dental and vision coverage, generous paid time off, a week-long summer and winter company shutdown, educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, and a 401(k).

Requirements

Significant biopharmaceutical commercial experience in early pipeline strategy, new product planning, commercial assessment, portfolio strategy, business development, market research, forecasting, or related roles, combined with advanced scientific or medical training.
Demonstrated experience developing commercial opportunity assessments for pre-clinical or early-development diseases or assets and translating findings into development or investment recommendations.
Experience integrating primary market research, epidemiology, analytics, competitive intelligence, market access, and forecasting into a coherent view of market attractiveness and product requirements.
Ability to build detailed current and future market models, including patient-based forecasts, market evolution scenarios, pricing and access assumptions, and sensitivity analyses.
Experience developing target product profiles and defining clinical and evidence thresholds for meaningful differentiation and commercial success.
Ability to work effectively before an asset or development plan is fully defined, create structure from ambiguity, and identify critical questions to resolve.
Experience partnering with Research, External Innovation, Development, Medical, Regulatory, Value & Access, Finance, and insights and analytics teams in a global matrix.
Ability to critically assess novel biology, mechanisms, translational evidence, and emerging treatment paradigms, and translate implications, opportunities, and risks into a commercial perspective.
Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical rigor, business judgment, synthesis, executive communication, and ability to distinguish evidence, assumptions, and unresolved uncertainties.
Ability to represent Commercial on early cross-functional disease teams, lead complex work across two disease assessments, influence without authority, and deliver high-quality recommendations amid evolving priorities.

Nice To Haves

M.D. or Ph.D. in a relevant scientific or medical discipline preferred.
Formal commercial or business training, including an MBA, is valued but does not substitute for the required scientific or medical doctorate.
Curiosity, sound judgment, an external perspective, and thoughtful adoption of advances in AI, technology, and automation to improve decision-making, innovation, efficiency, and patient outcomes.

Responsibilities

Serve as global commercial lead and eDST Commercial representative for two assigned pre-clinical Sandbox diseases, owning commercial assessments, disease strategies, and advancement recommendations.
Build comprehensive understanding of each disease, including its biology, epidemiology, diagnosis, patient heterogeneity, burden, unmet need, clinical practice, treatment guidelines, patient journey, and intervention points.
Assess current and future markets, including diagnosed and addressable populations, treatment rates, future standards of care, competitive entry, pricing and access assumptions, and commercial potential by geography and patient segment.
Own market sizing, valuation, and forecasting, developing transparent bottom-up models of current and future markets and revenue for both future assets and the broader market.
Lead qualitative and quantitative primary market research with healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, payers, and other stakeholders, including advisory boards and expert engagement.
Integrate analytics, claims and other real-world data, competitive intelligence, epidemiology, market access, HEOR, scientific literature, and external expert insights into a fact-based commercial perspective.
Define commercial requirements for successful products, including target populations, positioning, meaningful clinical outcomes, differentiation thresholds, evidence needs, formulation and administration considerations, and access requirements.
Develop and maintain disease-level and asset-relevant target product profiles that guide Research and Development and can be applied when an asset is ready to advance.
Participate in eDSTs and partner with Research, External Innovation, Development, Medical, Regulatory, Value & Access, BI&A, Finance, and regional Commercial teams to shape disease priorities, research choices, translational plans, and development strategies.
Provide commercial perspectives for Sandbox and early disease governance, articulating market attractiveness, strategic fit, differentiation potential, risks, evidence gaps, and recommendations.
Support evaluation of internal programs and external innovation opportunities through commercial due diligence, scenario development, opportunity sizing, and assessment of investment implications.
Establish and manage integrated learning agendas and disease workplans, sequencing research and analysis to resolve key uncertainties before decisions.
Monitor changes in disease science, clinical practice, competitive pipelines, policy, access, and market dynamics, updating commercial assessments and target product profiles as needed.
Translate complex scientific, clinical, market, and financial information into executive recommendations and decision-ready materials.
Manage external research and consulting partners while retaining internal ownership of strategic questions, assumptions, synthesis, and recommendations.

Benefits

Annual bonus eligibility
Annual equity awards
Medical benefits
Dental benefits
Vision benefits
Generous paid time off, including a week-long company shutdown in the summer and winter
Educational assistance programs, including student loan repayment
Commuting subsidy
Matching charitable donations
401(k)