About the Job

The Director, Academic Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships within BioPharma Partnerships is responsible for shaping and executing a comprehensive business strategy focused on increasing the utilization of Foundation Medicine’s profiling and research assays with Cooperative Groups, Research Consortia and Academic investigators. This role is a key intersection between Medical, BioPharma and Commercial to embed Foundation Medicine as a partner of choice within this business sector to be on the cutting edge of academic research. 

This role will focus on stakeholder mapping and engagement, marketing, and identifying opportunities for research collaborations and engagements. The incumbent ensures these partners and prospects are positioned to benefit from Foundation Medicines portfolio of clinical trial and research solutions, including Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based genomic assays and analysis capabilities (both research and commercial offerings), clinical trial solutions, and molecular and clinical-genomic information solutions. This position requires a high level of in-person engagement and networking with Cooperative Group stakeholders, Patient Advocacy groups, Academic KOLs, as well as Medical Affairs teams within our Biopharma partners. This position has strong cross-functional internal partnerships within Foundation Medicine including within BioPharma, Legal and Medical. As a member of the broader BioPharma team, this role presents opportunities to contribute to other strategic and development projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and drive a business strategy in BioPharma focused on research collaborations and engagement with Cooperative Group and Academic Research Consortia
  • Drive the implementation and refinement of a new business model and engagement strategy to support cooperative groups, research consortia, and key strategic KOL partnerships in order to increase the utility of Foundation Medicines research offering in academic clinical trials benefiting both FMI evidence generation and Biopharma adoption. 
  • Collaborate with Biopharma and key Academic Partners to influence growth and adoption of Foundation Medicine’s diagnostic assay products and expansion of portfolio of FMI clinical trial solutions and services. 
  • Cultivate and manage US (NCTN) and EU Cooperative Group (EORTC) business opportunities, in alignment with FMI’s solutions portfolio, strategic interests, and customer needs.
  • Contribute to Academic research pricing proposals and direct to customer marketing. 
  • Contribute to overall development of the Biopharma solutions portfolio by providing feedback to the Marketing & Solutions team based on cooperative groups, research consortia and KOL customer segment needs.
• External Relationship Management: 
  • Identify key Academic investigators and decision makers within Cooperative Groups, key customers and key opinion leaders to better understand their background, research interests and opportunities. 
  • Build high-value relationships with key customers, key opinion leaders and scientific and medical communities. 
  • Sharpen and hone relationships with key stakeholders across the US and EU Cooperative groups and academic research communities through in person meetings and networking at conferences to source and grow new business opportunities.
  • Leverage understanding of Cooperative Group/Academic Alliance structure, people, strategy and communication style and processes to inform decisions. 
  • Awareness of competitive landscape, changing regulations and guidance with ability to assess the impact on projects and make modifications as necessary. 
  • Participate as needed in Foundation Medicine led Medical Advisory boards to better understand the voice of customer as it relates to research offerings. 
  • Fund select research opportunities in alignment with Medical Innovation and Clinical Development. 
• Drive Internal Cross-Functional Collaboration and Strategies: 
  • Recognize and scope value-generating opportunities in the context of new and existing collaborations by bringing together a team of internal stakeholders from Medical, Commercial and BioPharma.
  • Work closely with Foundation Medicine Senior Management to advance FMI’s growth, product utilization, and reputation amongst the US and EU academic research community. 
  • Partner closely with Medical Innovation committee to understand evidence needs and medical strategy, leveraging academic collaborations where appropriate. 
  • Fully understand the scope and breadth of Clinical Development CDPs to capitalize on identifying opportunities that meet Foundation Medicine’s evidence generation needs. 
  • Act as the main point of contact with Commercial and Medical on engagement with KOLs.
  • Provide project updates as needed to Medical, BioPharma and Clinical leadership. 
• Travel domestically and internationally up to 40% of the time. 
• Other projects as assigned. 

Qualifications:

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field 
• 12+ years of professional experience in the biopharmaceutical, diagnostic, or clinical trials industry 

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years’ experience partnering with cooperative groups, research consortia, and/or KOL stakeholders.
• Masters or PhD in biomedical research 
• Strong relationships within and across the NCTN community, including SWOG, Alliance, COG, ECOG-ACRIN, NRG, and/or Canadian Network Group, and EORTC (EU).
• Understanding and working knowledge of clinical trial development, principal investigator and biopharmaceutical relationships, and overall study sponsorships.
• Experience building and launching new business models.
• Experience assessing genomic profiling opportunities for strategic fit and curating those opportunities
• Experience in healthcare markets; must have a high degree of comfort with scientific issues including technical aptitude
• Experience with establishing contracts and pricing strategies.
• Demonstrated evidence of success working in a cross-functional environment
• Ability to build relationships to drive results.
• Understanding of HIPAA and importance of privacy of patient data
• Commitment to reflect FMI’s values: Integrity, Courage, and Passion

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