Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy & Trade Relations

Lead the launch. Shape the patient journey. Make a lasting impact. 

Join LEO Pharma as our Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy & Trade Relations and play a key role in bringing a new rare disease therapy to market. 

Your Role:  

As the Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy & Trade Relations, you will lead specialty pharmacy, patient affordability, and trade strategies for a rare disease brand in launch preparation. You will be responsible for building the capabilities, processes, and partnerships needed to support a successful commercial launch, including oversight of the specialty pharmacy network and commercial copay program. Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, you will translate brand strategy into operational solutions that enhance launch readiness and the patient experience.  

Experience in a rare disease or highly specialized therapies is strongly preferred. Dermatology experience is a plus. 

Your Responsibilities: 

Brand SP & Trade Leadership 

• Serve as the primary SP & Trade lead for the assigned rare disease brand. 

• Own development and execution of the brand-specific trade and distribution strategy within assigned areas of responsibility. 

• Represent SP & Trade on the brand’s cross-functional launch team and other launch-readiness workstreams. 

Launch Readiness & Capability Build 

• Build the specialty pharmacy and copay infrastructure required to support the brand’s commercial launch. 

• Lead implementation activities from initial strategy and requirements development through vendor implementation, testing, operational readiness, and launch. 

• Partner cross-functionally to design the end-to-end product and patient journey from prescription through product fulfillment. 

Specialty Pharmacy Strategy & Management 

• Lead development and execution of the specialty pharmacy strategy for the brand. 

• Support specialty pharmacy network design, partner selection, contracting, implementation, and launch readiness. 

• Directly manage strategic relationships with specialty pharmacy partners. 

Copay & Patient Affordability 

• Own the strategy, implementation, and ongoing management of the brand’s commercial copay program. 

• Partner with Patient Services, Market Access, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and other stakeholders to optimize the program throughout the product lifecycle. 

Specialty Distribution Partnership 

• Partner closely with the internal Trade colleague responsible for specialty distributor management. 

• Ensure alignment across specialty pharmacy, specialty distribution, supply chain, and patient access activities supporting the brand. 

Analytics & Performance Management 

• Establish KPIs and reporting frameworks to evaluate specialty pharmacy, copay, and overall channel performance. 

• Analyze data to identify access barriers, operational gaps, and opportunities to improve speed to therapy and patient experience. 

Cross-Functional Leadership 

• Collaborate with Brand, Market Access, Patient Services, Commercial Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Analytics teams. 

• Drive cross-functional alignment on decisions affecting the brand’s patient and product journey. 

Your Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred. 

• 7–10+ years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, specialty pharmacy, trade, patient services, market access, or related healthcare experience. 

• 5+ years of experience supporting specialty, rare disease, orphan, or other highly specialized therapies. 

• Strong knowledge of specialty pharmacy operations and specialty pharmacy network models. 

• Experience developing, implementing, or directly managing commercial copay/patient affordability programs. 

• Experience in a rare disease or highly specialized therapies is strongly preferred. Dermatology experience is a plus. 

• Demonstrated pharmaceutical launch or launch-readiness experience. 

• Experience building new programs, processes, or capabilities from the ground up. 

• Experience managing external vendors and strategic partners. 

• Strong project management, analytical, communication, and executive presentation skills. 

• Ability to travel overnight 20% (travel consists of working with field sales, attending business meetings, industry meetings, and working with key customers) 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Rare disease product launch experience. 

• Dermatology experience. 

• Experience establishing a specialty pharmacy network for a new product. 

• Experience designing and launching a copay program. 

• Experience with limited or exclusive specialty pharmacy networks. 

• Familiarity with specialty distributors, wholesalers, 3PLs, inventory management, and channel data. 

• Experience supporting complex, low-volume, high-touch patient journeys. 

Your New Team:  

You will join a highly collaborative team focused on building the capabilities, partnerships, and patient access solutions needed to support a successful rare disease launch. Working closely with colleagues across Brand, Market Access, Patient Services, Trade, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Commercial Operations, and Data & Analytics, you will play a key role in shaping the end-to-end patient and product journey. 

Compensation: 

The base salary range for this position is $175,000-215,000 per year. The base salary range represents the anticipated low and high of the LEO Pharma range for this position. Salary will vary based on various factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. In addition, some positions may include eligibility to earn commissions/bonus based on company and / or individual performance. 

Let’s pioneer together! 

At LEO Pharma, we help people with skin diseases live fulfilling lives by advancing dermatology beyond the skin. We drive dermatology with our knowledge, collaboration, and curiosity, and we are at the forefront of science in developing new medicines. For us, pioneering together is about constantly improving and extending what’s possible for each other, our company, and our patients.  

We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates because we believe that our different perspectives, backgrounds, and attitudes are what enable us to make the best decisions for LEO Pharma and meet the needs of the wonderfully diverse marketplace we operate in.