Market Access Associate Director, Rare Disease, Gulf Astrazeneca Pharma India Ltd.

Role Summary:

The Market Access Associate Director, Rare Disease will develop and lead the end-to-end market access strategy and team for AstraZeneca s Rare Disease portfolio across the Gulf markets, reporting directly to the Market Access Director, Gulf and based in the UAE. The role will guide creation of compelling brand value propositions, health economics models, and evidence-based access solutions, translating clinical and economic value into negotiation-ready narratives that enable early and sustained access in priority institutions. You will direct payer and key stakeholder engagements to secure, maintain, and optimize reimbursement and patient access across Gulf key accounts, while shaping cross-functional alignment with medical, HEOR, commercial, and policy teams. Success will be measured by speed and quality of access outcomes, strength of institutional adoption, and durability of reimbursement across the portfolio.

Typical Accountabilities:

Develop and Execute Access strategy to ensure achieving early access goals for existing and new launches, supporting overall Gulf ambition

• Establish Market Access strategies, objectives, and tactical plans in alignment with the brand strategies.
• Lead with the cross-functional team to develop and execute Pre-launch Market Access Strategies and plans driving accelerated access to key accounts.
• Implement market access short term tactics & long-term strategies, implement brand expansion accessibility plans supporting the life cycle management of AZ portfolio.
• Identify, build, map enlisting processes and stakeholders involved. Maintain strong business relationships with key decision makers, relevant stakeholders and influencers.
• Expertise in developing relevant evidence supporting the access, generated through clinical trials, Health Economics models, RWE (Real World Evidence) studies, systematic literature research and meta-analysis effectively substantiating the full value potential of AZ brands.
• Build relevant, solid, and localized value propositions, arguments with supporting evidence for accelerated and sustainable access.
• Collaborate with the Cross-functional team to develop pricing and contracting strategies to support AstraZeneca s product positioning and penetration. Develop relevant pricing, outcomes-based agreements and contracting activities.
• Generate insights of market & stakeholders, identify areas of partnership/ market opportunities and threats to AZ business and provide deliverable solutions & recommendations.
• Monitor environment and practices for shifts, trends or behaviors, interprets likely impact. Set up innovative and impactful projects, recommend actions that support the needs of the customers and create win-win partnerships.
• Liaise and communicate with government and private organizations to ensure relevant parties understand the positioning of AstraZeneca s products, remove access barrier and deliver value-based discussions for AZ products.

Stakeholders management

• Establish strategic partnerships with Health Authorities through strategic health initiatives.
• Identify, map, establish and develop strong customer engagement plans for strong and sustained relationships.
• Develop and implement plans for stakeholders development & engagement in alignment with country & MA Directors.
• Working with regional and international teams to define local strategies for MA & GA in the Gulf
• Report on the status of implementation of the tactical plan to internal customers.

Pricing Responsibilities:

Work closely with the pricing team on the development of the pricing and reimbursement strategy that optimizes the life-time value of the company s products, in collaboration with the pricing team and in line with corporate guidance:

• Formulate pricing strategy required to execute brand strategy.
• Assessment of the pricing competitive landscape
• Map and assess the business impact of current and future market access environment & price regulation changes
• Work on the elaboration of innovative pricing schemes and managed entry agreements
• Work closely with MA Director & commercial Team on the development of pricing strategy & optimal Recommended Minimum Price (RMP) to maximize winning potential

Passion for Customer

• Maintain close contact with key stakeholders including those who have significant influence in the access decisions with major hospitals/institutions for the assigned products.
• Alignment and co-creation of business and access plans with other MA heads, to support the gulf overall strategy and ambitions.

Collaborating and Influencing others

• Work collaboratively across functional areas, ensure alignment on key priorities, actions and activities. Serving as a resource within the region and by leveraging the expertise of others.
• Act as a liaison between the access and other cross-functional areas, persuading, convincing or motivating a targeted audience through collaboration and direct or indirect influence.

Corporate Responsibility:

• Maintain highest ethical standards and work in a spirit of AstraZeneca Code of Ethics, following rules & norms set by corporate policies
• Ensure that all conducted activities are done in accordance with local legislation and corporate standards.
• Timely report (as per respective procedures): health/environment/wellbeing related accidents; adverse events that you became aware about; change in status of your Conflict of Interest.

People & Performance Management

• Drive the development of MA Biopharma team to enhance skills and advance to higher career level
• Assess individual and team progress toward goals and provide proper coaching to improve.
• Identify early and accelerate the development of top talent and provide appropriate development opportunities for future career progression (succession planning).
• Demonstrate understanding of the career path and have a career dialogue with the team, managing expectations as needed and clarifying development potential and actions required.
• Work with individual managers to establish appropriate and challenging goals for each territory/account.
• Make informed business decisions by analyzing decision impact, risks, and coaches the team on how to make effective trade-off decisions for maximum return.