Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. logo

Rare Disease Account Specialist, Pittsburgh, PA

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Full-time
Remote friendly (Pittsburgh, PA)
$177,000 - $195,000 USD yearly
Sales, Marketing, and Market Access

RARE DISEASE ACCOUNT SPECIALIST - Donidalorsen

DESCRIPTION

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland. For more than 30 years, Ionis has been the leader in RNA-targeted therapy, pioneering new markets and changing standards of care with our novel antisense technology. Ionis currently has multiple approved medicines marketed by our partners and a premier late-stage pipeline highlighted by industry-leading cardiovascular, HAE and neurological franchises. Our scientific innovation began and continues with the knowledge that sick people depend on us, which fuels our vision to become the undisputed leader in genetic medicine, utilizing a multi-platform approach to discover, develop and deliver life-transforming therapies.

As the first company to fully harness the power of RNA technology for human therapeutics, Ionis’ platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs. We are building upon our innovative research and drug development excellence to provide greater value to patients, and we are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

Ionis is a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment designed to foster innovation and scientific excellence. Our success is a direct result of our outstanding employees. We are interested in bringing together a diverse group of individuals with different skill sets and perspectives into this creative environment to be part of a productive and inclusive team. While acknowledging people are actively engaged in hybrid/remote work, we continue to invest time, money, and energy into making our workplace locations a place where our culture and employees can thrive. We believe engaging on a day-to-day basis, in person, builds solid and lasting relationships, and contributes positively to our culture and innovation. From the heart of our stunning Carlsbad campus, we aim to provide a central connection point for all our employees. These facilities give us the opportunity to connect cross-functionally, collaborate and to build on the success of our business as we continue to grow. Join us and experience our unique culture while you develop and expand your career.

POSITION

The Account Specialist, reporting to the Region Director, is a field-based role responsible for building and managing long-term relationships with physicians and other customers for the accounts in their assigned territory. The Account Specialist is a hybrid role of providing access support and education to the accounts while also delivering key promotional messages to advocate on behalf of people suffering from Hereditary Angioedema (HAE). The Account Specialist will represent the organization in the HAE community educating external customers such as physicians, nurses, billing managers, and office staff about the approved indication and clinical information in relation to the HAE disease state and the appropriate use of Donidalorsen once FDA approved. The Account Specialist role is also responsible for supporting healthcare provider offices with access support in a compliant manner.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Engagement and Experience

  • Educate HCPs and office staff about Donidalorsen, its brand messages, efficacy, and safety using approved marketing materials and verbiage.
  • Educate HCPs and office staff on the Donidalorsen access process (including high-level steps, payer-specific coverage policies, typical challenges faced, etc.).
  • Use tokenized patient hub data via CRM to provide patient access status updates to customers.
  • Raise HAE disease state awareness, educate on patient need, and instill an urgency to appropriately treat HAE.
  • Create positive prescribing and access support experience for HCPs and account.
  • Educate on Ionis patient services offerings to encourage customer/patient participation and appropriate program utilization.
  • Participate in conferences, congresses, and other scientific meetings to educate HCPs on HAE disease state and treatment.

Market Knowledge

  • Gather insights to profile accounts and provide feedback to field leadership and marketing to inform Donidalorsen sales & marketing strategy.
  • Understand local market dynamics, including all potential drivers/barriers for HAE patients and/or accounts.
  • Identify, validate, and document potential HCPs treating HAE patients to inform commercial strategy.

Account Planning

  • Execute the brand strategic plans by developing and executing customer focused territory strategic account plans to maximize business opportunities and customer satisfaction.
  • Build insight-driven focused tactics by understanding brand requirements & anticipating the current and future needs of our key customers.
  • Adjust strategies to meet business goals in assigned territory through territory strategic insight.
  • Develop strategic account plans in conjunction with field and brand leadership to appropriately engage accounts based on customer needs and brand strategic objectives.
  • [Before launch only] Create a comprehensive launch day engagement plan with specific strategies and activities.
  • [Before launch only] Schedule customer meetings for post-launch and visit accounts based on the territory call plan.

Training

  • Participate in field meetings and training programs to understand Donidalorsen and brand messaging strategy, HAE disease state, and customer engagement tactics to effectively engage customers.
  • Strengthen knowledge of evolving payer landscape and policies as relates to HCP/office and ultimately patient needs.
  • Certify on approved label, compliance training and all applicable customer engagement policies.
  • Learn and adhere to the company's mission and vision, policies and procedures, including the Ionis Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.

Teamwork

  • Collaborate effectively and compliantly with other Account Specialists and other field teams (e.g., Patient Education Managers, Field Medical Directors).
  • Share learnings from customer engagement activities with other field team members and leadership (e.g., national/regional leads, marketing, field ops, analytics, market access).
  • Leverage all available platforms and technology to engage customers through multiple channels and enhance their overall experience.
  • Partner on accounts with patients who are seen by multiple specialties in multiple geographies.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s Degree.
  • Master’s and/or advanced degrees (e.g., MBA, PhD, PharmD) preferred.
  • Total 4-6+ years of experience in Pharma sales or Field Reimbursement and/or access roles across the following competencies:
    • Rare diseases and product launches.
    • HCP and IDN engagement.
    • Cross-functional field team coordination.
    • Successful launch experience.
    • Customer reimbursement and drug access education and support.
    • Extensive comprehension of the healthcare ecosystem including market access landscape and payer reimbursement policies for rare disease products.
    • Analytical skills to build product knowledge competency in pharmaceuticals, competitor products, and relevant disease states.
    • Self-driven with the ability to solve a wide array of customer challenges with integrity and in a compliant manner.
    • Excellent communications and presentation skills.
    • Proven track record for consistently and compliantly meeting or exceeding financial and/or other quantitative and qualitative targets.
    • Solid understanding of and adherence to external laws, codes, and company policies that apply to the healthcare industry and proper interaction with healthcare professionals.

Ionis offers an excellent benefits package! Follow this link for more details: Ionis Benefits.

The pay scale for this position is $177,000 to $195,000.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and all its subsidiaries are proud to be EEO employers.