Senior Director, Market Access

About the role

Kardigan is seeking a Senior Director of Market Access to help build the commercial foundation for our late-stage cardiovascular portfolio. This is a rare opportunity to join a pre-launch biotech with strong science, an experienced leadership team, and a clear path toward bringing transformative therapies to patients with serious heart disease. Reporting to the VP Marketing, this individual will be a key architect of Kardigan’s payer strategy, coverage policy, and access infrastructure - shaping how patients and providers can access our medicines from day one.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of market access strategies for multiple late-stage cardiovascular assets from pre-launch through commercialization, including coverage and reimbursement planning, payer value proposition, and pricing and contracting frameworks across commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid segments.
• Build and maintain relationships with national and regional payers, PBMs, and IDNs; lead payer advisory boards and negotiate formulary positioning for launch products.
• Partner with Medical Affairs and HEOR to define evidence generation priorities and to develop and communicate the clinical and economic value story that supports favorable coverage decisions and formulary placement.
• Design and oversee patient services programs including hub services, prior authorization support, patient assistance programs (PAP), and co-pay support to minimize access barriers and reduce time to therapy.
• Develop and execute a channel strategy spanning specialty pharmacy, specialty distributors, and hospital/institutional settings appropriate for a cardiovascular launch.
• Develop and lead the government affairs and policy strategy, including monitoring and responding to coverage policies, CMS proposals, and legislative dynamics that could affect product access.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Commercial, Medical, Legal, Finance, and Regulatory to align on launch readiness milestones, pricing strategy, and access timelines.
• Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing market access team as the organization grows, including external vendors and agency partners as needed.
• Establish metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks to monitor payer coverage, patient access, and field reimbursement performance.
• Represent market access perspectives in launch planning, LCM activities, and pipeline asset development to ensure early integration of access considerations.

Qualifications and Preferred Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD, or equivalent) strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of pharmaceutical/biotech industry experience with at least 6 years in market access, managed care, payer strategy, or a closely related function.
• Prior experience with at least one US product launch is required; cardiovascular, cardiometabolic or specialty launch experience is strongly preferred. Rare/orphan disease experience preferred but not required.
• Deep knowledge of the US payer landscape including commercial health plans, PBMs, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid, including formulary management, prior authorization, and step therapy protocols.
• Demonstrated success in establishing and managing payer relationships and leading payer negotiations or contracting processes.
• Experience developing and implementing patient services programs, including hub/SP management, PAP, co-pay card, and field reimbursement support.
• Familiarity with HEOR principles and the ability to translate health economic data into payer-relevant messaging and dossiers.
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical skills, and executive presence, with the ability to influence cross-functional partners and present to senior leadership.
• Comfortable operating in a small, pre-commercial company environment; demonstrated ability to build programs and teams from early-stage through launch.
• Ability to travel up to 30% as needed to support payer meetings, industry conferences, and internal team collaboration.

Pay

Exact Compensation may vary based on skills, experience and location.
Pay range
$255,000 - $340,000 USD