Associate Director, New Products Planning

Job Description

Associate Director – New Products Introduction

Our organization is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where our organization has codified its 125-year legacy. Our success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.

As our organization in India moves towards accelerating access and rapidly scaling the commercial business, we are seeking a New Products Lead. The NPI Lead will play a strong role in supporting the India Leadership team, ensuring that the assets in Our Company product pipeline are evaluated from commercial perspective readying for timely Launch & Access in India.

Key Responsibilities

Pipeline Management:
- Proactively identify, assess, and prioritize new pharmaceutical products and candidates within our company global pipeline that have the potential to meet the specific healthcare needs and market opportunities in India. This involves conducting rigorous scientific and commercial evaluations, aligning product attributes with local epidemiology, regulatory requirements, and patient demographics.

- Monitor the progress of these products through various development stages, ensuring timely decision-making to optimize the portfolio for maximum impact and return on investment.

Stakeholder Engagement
- Establish and nurture strong, collaborative relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders at market, region and global level, including regional business leaders like APLT, global product teams, clinical development and regulatory affairs team, and external partners such as healthcare providers and key opinion leaders.

- Facilitate transparent and effective communication channels to ensure alignment on strategic priorities. Provide regular, data-driven updates and strategic insights to senior leadership, highlighting the potential value, risks, and opportunities within the pipeline.

- Act as a trusted advisor by delivering actionable recommendations based on comprehensive analysis and market intelligence.

Market Landscape Analysis
- Conduct in-depth analyses of the Indian pharmaceutical market landscape, including competitive products, emerging therapies, regulatory trends, payer environments, and patient access challenges.

- Develop a nuanced understanding of therapeutic areas relevant to the pipeline, identifying unmet medical needs and potential barriers to entry.

- Utilize this intelligence to inform and refine product positioning, pricing strategies, and market access plans, ensuring that the product strategy is both competitive and aligned with broader healthcare system goals.

Financial Modeling
- Design and execute detailed financial models to evaluate the commercial viability and forecast the financial performance of new product candidates.

- Incorporate variables such as market size, pricing scenarios, reimbursement pathways, cost of goods, marketing expenses, and competitive dynamics.

- Use these models to support investment decisions, resource allocation, and strategic planning, providing clear, quantitative justifications for product prioritization and launch readiness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Support cross-functional teams including marketing, sales, regulatory affairs, medical affairs, and supply chain in coordinating product development and launch activities.

Assist in organizing workshops, strategy sessions, and project tracking to help keep teams aligned on goals, timelines, and deliverables.

Help gather and incorporate market insights and customer feedback into product development efforts to contribute to effective and market-driven launch plans.
 

Strategy Development
- Develop and maintain a clear, strategic agenda for all product-related discussions and decision-making forums.

- Ensure that these agendas are focused on addressing the most critical unmet medical needs in the Indian market while aligning with our company’s overarching corporate goals and values.

- Prepare detailed briefing materials, prioritize discussion topics, and guide meetings to foster productive dialogue and consensus-building among stakeholders. Continuously revisit and adjust the agenda based on evolving market conditions, pipeline developments, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications & Experience:

Graduate/ postgraduate from a Top Tier Engineering/ B School.

8+ years of experience in a project management, strategy and/or analytics role ideally in a healthcare corporate, startup and/or a leading consulting firm.

Skills:

• Shaping the future of new product development landscape of our company.
• Delivering in an increasingly complex industry landscape navigating multiple evolving challenges
• Execution Excellence: Project execution, attention to detail and coordination skills: Proven track record of “getting things done”.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience in excel analysis / modeling
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels – regional and global.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
• Analytical thinking: ability to problem solve, think holistically about organizational solutions to complex problems, create order and simplicity out of complex problems.

We are a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Our mission is built on the simple premise that if we “follow the science” and that great medicines can make a significant impact to our world. And we believe that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to world-class science can succeed by inventing medicine and vaccine innovations that make a difference for patients across the globe.

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

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