Associate Director / Director Epidemiology Europe, Oncology

Job Description

Would you like to apply your expertise to impact patients’ lives in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines Then AstraZeneca might be the one for you!At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you’re our kind of person.AstraZeneca’s vision in Oncology is to help patients by redefining the cancer-treatment paradigm, with the aim of bringing six new cancer medicines to patients between 2013 and 2020. A broad pipeline of next-generation medicines is focused principally on four disease areas – breast, ovarian, lung and haematological cancers. As well as other tumour types, these are being targeted through four key platforms – immunotherapy, the genetic drivers of cancer and resistance, DNA damage repair, and antibody drug conjugates, underpinned by personalized healthcare and biomarker technologies.Epidemiologists at AstraZeneca support drug discovery and development as well as commercialization of pharmaceuticals. Major activities include: critical appraisal and synthesis of relevant epidemiological literature; design, initiation, management, conduct, analysis, and reporting of epidemiological studies, including observational and interventional studies; and development of medical and payer evidence plans to fill critical knowledge gaps, including support to specialized areas (e.g., biomarker development, disease modelling, health economics).Epidemiologists interact with internal and external customers to ensure appropriate communication of results to stakeholders, including providing epidemiological support for responses to questions posed by regulatory authorities. They perform research on secondary data (e.g. electronic healthcare databases) either internally or through collaboration with external research and academic groups. Additionally, they design and conduct primary data collection studies (e.g., non-interventional and interventional) through external service providers.Epidemiologists support safety and clinical objectives and also work closely with commercial partners to maximize the potential of AstraZeneca’s products and ensure support for appropriate target claims and messages. Moreover, epidemiologists work close with the payer team to identify, build and close evidence gaps relevant to unlock and maintain the access to the drugs. Finally, they ensure that timeframes are negotiated appropriately for the completion of tasks, and that the tasks are carried out as agreed and results presented effectively.Progression in the Epidemiology career ladder at AstraZeneca requires an increasingly sophisticated understanding of drug discovery and development, clinical research and epidemiological methods, data sources, informatics tools and techniques, disease pathophysiology, risk management, the regulatory environment in the relevant therapeutic area, and factors that influence successful product differentiation and commercialization. Senior staff are also expected to educate colleagues in the principles and practice of epidemiology. Additionally, senior staff will participate in the development of complex medical evidence strategies and drive decisions within a complex matrix drug team environment.Main Duties and Responsibilities OverviewThe Associate Director/Director, Epidemiology (Europe) is a strategic as well as scientific role and involves designing and executing effective and efficient epidemiology strategy for drug and enablement projects, at a European level. It requires interaction with diverse scientific, technical and business experts to ensure scientific quality and timely, effective project delivery while adhering to ethical requirements and responding to business needs.

You will provide specialist guidance and direction to project teams, senior leaders, and is to collaborate with senior colleagues and peers to ensure optimal management of high-impact project opportunities and risks

You will work independently in the design, execution, analysis, interpretation, and internal and external communication of specific epidemiological studies. This role requires taking a leadership role in a range of activities

You will deliver epidemiology strategy, support, and scientific leadership to project teams and the epidemiology global skills group, at all stages of pharmaceutical development

You will manage externally commissioned research projects and keep abreast of epidemiological developments within academia, regulatory, health policy providers, reimbursement authorities and key opinion leaders

You will establish, maintain and expand relationships and work effectively with external experts and research groups

You will negotiate time frames, provide recommendations on resource requirements, and ensure delivery of the tasks as agreed

You will promote good epidemiological practice and represent the company’s position when interacting with external experts, collaborative groups, or contract research organization

Essential Requirements

Experience in design of studies that support conditional drugs’ approvals in Europe (regulatory/reimbursement)

Experience in utilizing European real world and other data to support value-based outcomes collaborations with health care providers and reimbursement authorities

Substantial experience in epidemiological research in drug development or in a closely related academic research area

Ph.D. or equivalent in epidemiology or related health science field and substantial experience in the health care environment and/or outcome researches. Alternatively, an MSc or MPH with consolidated experience in the health care environment and/or outcome researches

At least 5 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry or in closely related academic epidemiological research

Sustained productivity in epidemiological research as manifest by successful design, execution, and publication of original epidemiological research relevant to drug discovery and development (e.g., drug safety) or commercialization in peer-reviewed journal

Experience in utilizing secondary data and also conducting primary data collection studies Emerging recognition by the external scientific communities as an expert in the application of epidemiology to areas relevant to drug development and commercialization</