Director, Therapeutic Area Strategy, CRM

Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG seeks a Director for Therapeutic Area Strategy in CRM, based in Basel. The role focuses on developing holistic strategies, providing commercial insights, and guiding pipeline and acquisition opportunities.

This position is responsible for shaping and evolving a comprehensive therapeutic area strategy for Chronic Respiratory Medicine. The director will deliver early-stage commercial intelligence to research and development teams, steer internal pipeline initiatives, and evaluate external licensing and acquisition prospects. Additionally, the role ensures alignment across biomedical research, development, strategy, and commercial divisions in the US and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the TA Strategy Head to craft a comprehensive strategy that drives sustainable growth across short, mid, and long-term horizons, utilizing external benchmarking and analytical insights.
• Leverage deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical sector and Chronic Respiratory Medicine to identify and build competitive advantages against industry peers.
• Deliver critical commercial intelligence to R&D project teams, with a specific focus on early-phase development programs.
• Review scientific reports and publications to distill essential messages and construct accurate product forecasts.
• Develop and present strategic external insights to uncover growth avenues, anticipate competitive threats, and establish independent perspectives on key strategic drivers, including commissioning targeted primary research.

Requirements

• Hold a Bachelor's degree.
• Possess extensive expertise in Chronic Respiratory Medicine, or demonstrate a proven ability to quickly acquire this specialized knowledge.
• Exhibit high agility to manage multiple strategic disease areas within the therapeutic domain and oversee various internal and external programs simultaneously.
• Have substantial background in assessing new product opportunities via mergers and acquisitions, business development and licensing, and internal research initiatives.
• Bring 5 to 7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical or medical device industry, specifically within research and development or commercial roles, including experience in conducting, commissioning, or analyzing primary research.
• Demonstrate experience in strategy formulation and asset shaping during the early stages of the product lifecycle, regardless of functional background.
• Possess recent local US market experience (post-2015), including direct engagement with US customers and healthcare systems.

Nice to have

• An advanced degree such as a PhD, MD, or equivalent in life sciences or healthcare, or an MBA, consulting background, or comparable experience.