Sr. Director, Patient Support Services
Neurocrine Biosciences
Summary
The Sr. Director, Patient Support Services, develops and executes the strategy for patient support programs across Neurocrine's marketed specialty and rare disease products and future pipeline. This leader is accountable for effective, compliant services that help patients and healthcare providers navigate access, reimbursement, affordability, therapy initiation, and treatment continuity.
Job description
About the Role
The Sr. Director, Patient Support Services, develops and executes the strategy for patient support programs across Neurocrine's marketed specialty and rare disease products and future pipeline. This leader is accountable for effective, compliant services that help patients and healthcare providers navigate access, reimbursement, affordability, therapy initiation, and treatment continuity.
The position provides strategic and operational leadership for reimbursement HUB services, patient assistance and copay programs, case management, specialty pharmacy coordination, and related patient support capabilities. This person will lead a team focused on executing comprehensive Patient Support Services across the current portfolio.
Patient Support Strategy and Leadership
- Establish and execute a portfolio-wide patient support strategy aligned with patient and provider needs, commercial priorities, and applicable compliance requirements
- Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing Patient Support Services team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement
- Drive a high-quality, low-friction experience for patients and prescribers, helping patients get on therapy faster and stay on therapy longer
- Lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of patient support programs for marketed products, including reimbursement assistance, financial support, case management, and fulfillment coordination
- Anticipate changes in the access environment, patient journey, distribution landscape, and service delivery models; translate insights into program priorities and recommendations
Patient Experience and Operational Excellence
- Oversee performance of HUBs/patient support vendors, specialty pharmacy interfaces, prior authorization support platforms, and financial assistance services
- Drive improvements in time to therapy, reimbursement support, fulfillment, abandonment, and treatment continuity, with appropriate patient and provider feedback mechanisms
- Ensure clear, effective patient and provider support tools and communications in partnership with appropriate review and compliance functions
- Establish processes to identify, escalate, and resolve service issues and improve the quality and consistency of the patient experience
- Partner closely with Field Access, Market Access, Marketing, and other teams to identify emerging access challenges, address systemic barriers, and ensure patient support programs effectively meet the needs of patients and healthcare providers
Pipeline Readiness and Launch Excellence
- Lead patient support planning and implementation for future product launches, partnering with cross-functional launch teams to define requirements, milestones, resourcing, and readiness measures
- Partner with patients, prescribers, and their office staff to understand their unique needs across the care journey, and translate those insights into a clear path to care
- Assess current capabilities and identify gaps associated with new therapeutic areas, product characteristics, distribution models, and reimbursement pathways, including hospital-administered or buy-and-bill therapies where applicable
- Build scalable, cost-effective capabilities and partnerships based on portfolio needs
- Evaluate emerging technologies, service models, and industry practices that could improve patient access, provider experience, or operational efficiency
Vendor, Financial, and Performance Management
- Develop and manage Patient Support Services budgets, forecasts, and resource plans; evaluate program effectiveness, cost efficiency, and investment priorities
- Own vendor strategy and lifecycle management, including selection, contracting, implementation, governance, performance reviews, and transitions
- Define and monitor actionable KPIs, vendor scorecards, and patient journey analytics in partnership with Commercial Analytics and other stakeholders
- Leverage patient journey insights, operational performance data, and emerging trends to proactively identify opportunities, inform strategic investments, drive measurable continuous improvement initiatives, and demonstrate the impact of Patient Support Services to senior leadership
Requirements
- BA/BS in Marketing, Life Sciences, Business, Healthcare or related field
- 14+ years' experience within the biopharmaceutical industry with retail, limited-distribution specialty, and rare disease drugs
- 8+ years of relevant functional experience working in or managing patient support HUB vendors and patient support programs
- 5+ years of progressive people leadership experience, including oversight of complex programs, external partners, and cross-functional initiatives
- Experience designing and implementing patient support programs supporting retail and limited distribution specialty pharmaceutical products
- Experience in rare disease
- Experience supporting commercial product launches and building patient services infrastructure in a biopharmaceutical environment
- Strong understanding of the patient journey within manufacturer patient support programs for specialty, rare disease, and retail biopharmaceutical products
- Demonstrated ability to identify unmet patient and provider needs and develop innovative solutions
- Track record of successfully managing and leading vendor relationships
- Understanding of commercial payer, Medicare, and Medicaid reimbursement, pharmacy benefit design, and relevant coding, payment, and distribution considerations
- General understanding of customary patient and pharmaceutical flow within LTC and hospital system settings
- Knowledge of applicable HIPAA patient privacy, FDA, CMS, OIG, and healthcare compliance requirements
- Ability to develop and articulate company-wide patient services strategy, vision, and direction
- Strong leadership capabilities with a focus on accountability, innovation, and delivering exceptional patient experiences
- Proven ability to influence, align, and collaborate across cross-functional teams
- Experience leading organizational change and transformation
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex initiatives, interpret performance analytics, and exercise financial discipline
- Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on execution and communicate effectively with senior leaders
- Excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills
Benefits
- 401(k) Matching
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Holidays
- Personal Days
- Paid Caregiver Leave
- Paid Parental Leave
- Paid Medical Leave
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Prescription Drug Coverage
- Annual Bonus
- Equity Long-Term Incentive
Company overview
Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company founded in 1992 and headquartered in San Diego, California. The company specializes in discovering and developing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, neuroendocrine, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Neurocrine's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, chorea associated with Huntington's disease, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids. Their flagship product, INGREZZA (valbenazine), was the first FDA-approved treatment for adults with tardive dyskinesia. The company maintains a robust pipeline with multiple compounds in mid- to late-phase clinical development across core therapeutic areas, including Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome, and major depressive disorder. Neurocrine operates with a purpose to relieve suffering for people with great needs, applying unique insights into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol NBIX and has established strategic collaborations with major pharmaceutical partners including AbbVie.