About the Opportunity

Northeastern University’s Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program is a two-year fellowship designed to advance the education and training of Pharm.D. graduates in various areas of industry pharmacy including regulatory affairs, medical information/affairs, patient safety, outcomes research, and many other areas. The program is a collaboration between Northeastern University and biopharmaceutical industry partners.

Our program provides a dynamic academic environment offering fellows the opportunity for a wide breadth of experiences:

• Develop teaching skills through participation in our Teaching and Learning Seminar series
• Facilitate small and large group didactic education in partnership with a faculty mentor
• Create, present, and publish scholarly research through collaborative industry and university relationships
• Engage with faculty who participate in various interdisciplinary
• Network with area residents and other Northeastern fellows via professional development programs, teaching seminars, and participation on fellowship committees

In partnership with Northeastern University, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Vertex) is offering a two-year North America Commercial PharmD fellowship based in Boston, MA.

About Vertex:

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. The company has multiple approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) — a rare, life-threatening genetic disease — and has several ongoing clinical and research programs in CF. Beyond CF, Vertex has a robust clinical pipeline of investigational small molecule, mRNA, cell and genetic therapies (including gene editing) in other serious diseases where it has deep insight into causal human biology, including sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, APOL1-mediated kidney disease, acute and neuropathic pain, type 1 diabetes and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's global headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District and its international headquarters is in London. Additionally, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry's top places to work, including 13 consecutive years on Science magazine's Top Employers list and one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. For company updates and to learn more about Vertex's history of innovation, visit www.vrtx.com  or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Position Description and Responsibilities:

The North America Commercial (“NAC”) department is responsible for the execution of the commercial strategy across North America.  This includes leading patient access and reimbursement for current and future therapies, establishing the product strategy for new products and marketed brands, and ongoing support for both patients and caregivers.

The fellow will engage in a 2 year role on the commercial team to better understand the role of commercial in a pharmaceutical organization.  Each fellow will be assigned to a specific team within the NAC department (US Market Access, US Marketing or Guidance & Patient Support) with the opportunity to rotate across teams during their second year.

Fellowship Objectives:

US Market Access (USMA)

The US Market Access position will provide an opportunity to learn multiple disease areas and products across Vertex’s commercial and pipeline medicines. This fellowship will help prepare for launches and post-approval pull-though by partnering with the multi-functional USMA team including access strategy, trade and distribution, pricing and contracting and 3 field teams, as well as critical cross-functional partners including US Public Affairs, HEOR, Commercial Manufacturing and Supply chain and Brand Marketing teams.

• Learn the responsibilities of the US Market Access team, including how it interacts with both internal and external stakeholders
• Lead strategic/tactical projects to support the rapid scaling of the team and launch readiness across potential disease areas such as Cystic Fibrosis, Acute Pain, Type 1 Diabetes and APOL-1 Mediated Kidney Disease
• Support go-to market access and distribution strategy with payers, specialty pharmacies, distributors and wholesalers across the US and Canada
• Identify and explore innovative partnership and market disruptors that may speed compliant access and distribution practices
• Gain understanding of the highly regulated environment and compliance with federal and state regulations

US Marketing

The US Marketing position will be in support of US commercial and brand strategy development and tactical implementation and execution.  This fellowship offers an opportunity to learn how drugs are commercialized and what the requirements are to succeed in a commercial corporate business.

This individual will develop an understanding of core marketing principles, commercial operations, and business processes. They will work cross-functionally both internally and within the field to develop a deep understanding of the patient treatment journey and key customer insights. They will learn and support ongoing marketing projects and lead new initiatives.

• Gain understanding of the focus of the Marketing team and its role within the broader organization
• Support the team in executing the strategy for the US Brands including collaboration with the team on creating promotional materials for the Sales team
• Lead strategic and/or tactical projects that are ‘on strategy’ and help realize the goal of patients benefiting from Vertex medicines and to meet business objectives
• Collaborate cross-functionally to build relationships with stakeholders and develop a deep understanding of the patient treatment journey and key customer insights
• Support market research and insights to identify trends

Guidance & Patient Support (GPS)

The GPS position will support GPS’ access, engagement, and adherence goals for the patients on one of Vertex’s CF medicines. The GPS fellowship position offers an opportunity to learn how the GPS team supports patients who are prescribed our medicines to ensure they can access their therapy, have appropriate educational support and resources, and stay on track with their Vertex treatment plan. 

• Gain understanding of the focus of the GPS team, its core principles, operations and business processes, and its role within the broader Vertex commercial organization 
• Collaborate with Patient Support Team (PST) to help patients stay on track with their prescribed Vertex treatment and ensure each patient fully benefits from our support 
• Collaborate with PST to elevate and deepen Healthcare Provider (HCP) relationships to enhance partnerships   
• Collaborate with GPS Operations Team to drive and improve simplicity and efficiency within program operations (Specialty Pharmacy, Quality and Compliance, Access and Reimbursement, and Systems) to best support the PST and patients 
• Collaborate with GPS Patient Experience Team (PXT) in driving patient-centric communications that deliver adherence and access support and promote long-term patient engagement; as well as driving patient-focused analyses 

Qualifications:

Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE accredited institution, eligible for licensure as a pharmacist in the State of Massachusetts.

Excellent oral and written communication, time management, and leadership skills, ability to work independently and take initiative on a variety of projects at the industry site and Northeastern.

Additional Information:

Applicants should submit the following APPLICATION MATERIALS by the priority deadline of October 31, 2023

• Curriculum vitae (CV), uploaded
• Unofficial PharmD transcripts, uploaded
• Cover letter, uploaded

Three formal letters of recommendation (LORs) sent directly from the letter writer to PharmDFellowships@northeastern.edu by November 29th , 2023. LOR writers should include the candidate’s name and fellowship program(s) in the subject line (e.g. Smith, John – Alnylam, GSK).

Address cover letter and three LORs to:

J. Andrew Orr-Skirvin, PharmD, BCOP

Clinical Professor, School of Pharmacy

Chair, Department of Pharmacy & Health System Sciences

Director of Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program

360 Huntington Ave, 140TF R218

Boston, MA 02115

Position Type

Research

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.  

Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff.  Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion. 

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other  characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity .