US Medical Early Asset Director – Market Access

AstraZeneca • Wilmington, DE

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to turn ideas into life-changing medicines? At AstraZeneca, we are committed to addressing the unmet needs of patients worldwide through scientific innovation. In this role, you will play a crucial role in leveraging our scientific capabilities to positively impact patients' lives. Reporting directly to the Head of US Medical Early Asset Team Lead, you will be part of a team focused on the development of ambitious US medical strategies for our early pipeline. This is an opportunity to seize, design, and influence across a complex matrix system to ensure US needs are integrated into global development plans.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree; advanced degree preferred (MPH, MS HEOR, PharmD, MBA, or related).
• 5+ years in pharmaceutical or consultancy with a focus on US market access/HEOR; experience influencing early development (Phase 1–2) strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated impact shaping TPPs, clinical design/evidence to meet payer needs, and developing early value propositions and pricing/contracting hypotheses.
• Ability to translate clinical profiles into payer-relevant value and coverage drivers.
• Comfort interpreting economic models, burden of illness, and RWE methodologies; able to brief modeling teams and stress-test assumptions.
• Working knowledge of Medicare/Medicaid, commercial payers, PBMs, 340B, medical vs. pharmacy benefit dynamics, coding/billing, and site-of-care economics.
• Experience designing and synthesizing payer research, advisory boards, and message testing.

Nice To Haves

• Proven ability to lead without authority across Clinical, Medical, HEOR, Commercial, and Finance.
• Clear, concise storyteller able to craft payer narratives and present to governance and senior stakeholders.
• Strong quantitative skills; scenario analysis and sensitivity testing to inform investment decisions.
• Operates in ambiguity, manages multiple assets, and meets fast-paced milestone timelines.

Responsibilities

• Define US payer-relevant elements of the Target Product Profile (clinical endpoints, comparators, subpopulations, line of therapy) and shape differentiation claims that resonate with payers and health systems.
• Provide US access input to clinical and RWE plans (endpoints, PROs, inclusion/exclusion, duration, head-to-heads, external controls) to support label, compendia, guideline inclusion, and payer coverage.
• Lead early value story development (unmet need, clinical and economic value drivers), outline core claims, and define requirements for future AMCP dossier modules and global value dossiers.
• Develop US WAC/NET ranges, reference pricing considerations, budget impact boundaries, and contracting scenarios (e.g., outcomes-based, indication-based) with assumptions and risks.
• Co-create early economic models and RWE plans (burden of illness, treatment patterns, comparative effectiveness, adherence/persistence) to support access and inform trial design.
• Assess policy landscape (Medicare, Medicaid, ACA, IRA/Part D redesign, 340B, state policies), site-of-care and channel dynamics (buy-and-bill, pharmacy benefit, specialty distribution), and implications for design and launch.
• Plan and synthesize early payer/IDN advisory input and rapid tests (concept reviews, value message testing, coverage criteria simulations) to de-risk access hurdles.
• Maintain landscape of class coverage criteria, step/edit rules, utilization management, coding/reimbursement precedents; identify opportunities to differentiate and anticipate barriers.
• Build access assumptions for early forecasts (gross-to-net, access mix, UM intensity, speed-to-coverage) and partner with Finance on rNPV /scenario analyses for governance.
• Represent US access in global/US asset teams and at governance gates (indication sequencing, go/no-go, TPP approval), driving clear, evidence-backed recommendations.
• Operate within US promotional and pre-approval communication standards and company policies; ensure research and external interactions meet compliance requirements.

Benefits

• When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines.
• In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions.
• That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office.
• But that doesn't mean we're not flexible.
• We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility.
• Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior