Director, Patient Focused Drug Development and Innovation
Sarepta Therapeutics
August 16, 2026
Remote friendly (Cambridge, MA)
United States
Patient Advocacy
The Director, Patient Focused Drug Development and Innovation will build patient-focused drug development frameworks and advance Sarepta’s patient-centric approach by embedding the patient voice into R&D decision-making across the pipeline.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement a global patient-focused drug development strategy, including a best-in-class collaboration playbook between Patient Affairs and Clinical Development
- Design frameworks to incorporate patient input into trial design, recruitment, and retention (e.g., patient friction coefficient, protocol input, plain language summaries)
- Operationalize processes and cadence to move patient/caregiver insights through the organization with traceability to decisions and outcomes
- Develop metrics to track impact; identify opportunities to publish/report metrics
- Build trustworthy relationships with patient leaders across disease areas
- Advance patient advocacy for new disease areas and identify engagement opportunities across patient, medical, and clinical functions
- Participate in cross-functional meetings to ensure plans are informed by the patient voice
- Identify patient education needs (including gene therapy) and develop cross-functional strategies
- Manage and budget to execute patient voice operational frameworks; monitor industry/regulatory practices
- Ensure patient experience data are incorporated into development, regulatory, and clinical operations
- Provide regular disease-community updates; ensure compliant interactions; monitor evolving guidelines
- Develop and implement caregiver and sibling strategies; perform other assigned duties
Qualifications/Skills:
- Bachelor’s in psychology/counseling/social work (advanced degree preferred)
- 12+ years patient advocacy experience (rare disease preferred)
- Patient-centric mindset; strong compliance knowledge; familiarity with drug development
- Excellent communication/presentation skills; can present to senior leadership
- Ability to build rapport quickly; proactive/diplomatic influence; collaborative and able to prioritize
- Experience working globally in a matrix environment
Benefits (as stated): Physical and Emotional Wellness; Financial Wellness; Support for Caregivers.
Application instructions: Apply if you are solution-oriented, comfortable with ambiguity/candor, and value kindness and integrity.
Hybrid role: On-site at U.S. facilities and occasional company in-person events. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. Targeted salary range: $185,600–$232,000/year.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement a global patient-focused drug development strategy, including a best-in-class collaboration playbook between Patient Affairs and Clinical Development
- Design frameworks to incorporate patient input into trial design, recruitment, and retention (e.g., patient friction coefficient, protocol input, plain language summaries)
- Operationalize processes and cadence to move patient/caregiver insights through the organization with traceability to decisions and outcomes
- Develop metrics to track impact; identify opportunities to publish/report metrics
- Build trustworthy relationships with patient leaders across disease areas
- Advance patient advocacy for new disease areas and identify engagement opportunities across patient, medical, and clinical functions
- Participate in cross-functional meetings to ensure plans are informed by the patient voice
- Identify patient education needs (including gene therapy) and develop cross-functional strategies
- Manage and budget to execute patient voice operational frameworks; monitor industry/regulatory practices
- Ensure patient experience data are incorporated into development, regulatory, and clinical operations
- Provide regular disease-community updates; ensure compliant interactions; monitor evolving guidelines
- Develop and implement caregiver and sibling strategies; perform other assigned duties
Qualifications/Skills:
- Bachelor’s in psychology/counseling/social work (advanced degree preferred)
- 12+ years patient advocacy experience (rare disease preferred)
- Patient-centric mindset; strong compliance knowledge; familiarity with drug development
- Excellent communication/presentation skills; can present to senior leadership
- Ability to build rapport quickly; proactive/diplomatic influence; collaborative and able to prioritize
- Experience working globally in a matrix environment
Benefits (as stated): Physical and Emotional Wellness; Financial Wellness; Support for Caregivers.
Application instructions: Apply if you are solution-oriented, comfortable with ambiguity/candor, and value kindness and integrity.
Hybrid role: On-site at U.S. facilities and occasional company in-person events. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. Targeted salary range: $185,600–$232,000/year.