Vice President, US Market Access

Vice President, US Market Access

The VP, US Market Access will lead Skyhawk’s payer strategy and market access execution for SKY-0515 and future pipeline assets, with direct accountability for payer engagement, formulary access, contracting strategy — including value-based and other innovative agreements — and government program strategy across Medicare and Medicaid. This is a hands-on, builder role: the successful candidate will have led access strategy for at least one orphan/rare disease launch and be comfortable operating with the resourcing and pace of a small biopharma company, not just directing work built by larger teams.

This role sits at the center of Skyhawk’s commercial organization and requires close, day-to-day collaboration with Distribution/Trade, Patient Services, Marketing, HEOR, Commercial Operations and Sales teams to ensure payer strategy, patient access, and commercial execution move in lockstep — particularly given the complexity of a rare disease launch where every patient's access journey matters.

Responsibilities:

US Payer Strategy & Engagement

• Develop and execute Skyhawk’s national US payer strategy across Commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid channels, including payer segmentation, tiering, and call-prioritization frameworks that reflect coverage policy, formulary timing, and covered-lives concentration.
• Build and personally lead relationships with national and regional MCOs, PBMs, IDN’s and specialty pharmacy/hub partners — this role is expected to be in the room for the organization’s highest-value payer conversations, not solely directing others.
• Design and lead the account-planning and workload model for the payer-facing field team as it's built out, including geographic/territory design and prioritization logic.
• Own the strategy and execution for pre-approval payer engagement (e.g., health care economic information exchange), in close coordination with Legal/Compliance, ensuring all activity stays within applicable regulatory guardrails.

Value-Based & Innovative Contracting

• Lead the evaluation, design, and negotiation of value-based agreements and other innovative contracting models with payers, where appropriate for SKY-0515 and future assets.
• Partner with HEOR, Pricing, Medical Affairs, Finance, Marketing and Legal to structure outcomes-based terms, rebate architecture, and risk-sharing mechanisms that are operationally feasible to track and administer.
• Evaluate managed access and alternative reimbursement pathways (e.g., ex-US precedents such as outcomes-based pilots) for applicability to the US market where relevant.

Government Programs — Medicare & Medicaid

• Own Skyhawk’s Medicare (PDP and MA) and Medicaid (state and managed) access strategy, including formulary review timing, prior authorization/step-therapy criteria, and rebate/pricing program compliance (e.g., 340B, Medicaid Drug Rebate Program).
• Monitor and plan for the practical impact of evolving CMS policy — including Inflation Reduction Act provisions, Medicare drug price negotiation, and related rulemaking — on launch and lifecycle strategy.

Launch Readiness & Commercial Execution

• Serve as the market access lead on the cross-functional launch team, ensuring payer, distribution, and patient-access workstreams are sequenced and resourced correctly ahead of approval.
• Partner with Distribution/Trade and 3PL partners on channel strategy, contracting, and operational readiness (order-to-cash, chargebacks, data flows) as they affect payer access.
• Work with Patient Services to design hub and patient-support program eligibility criteria, ensuring alignment between payer coverage realities and the support patients receive.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Marketing to ensure payer and patient messaging are aligned and mutually reinforcing across the launch narrative.
• Partner with HEOR to translate clinical and real-world evidence into payer-relevant value communications, dossiers, and pre-approval information exchange materials.
• Partner with Commercial Operations on data, reporting, and CRM/account-management infrastructure needed to run a payer-facing team effectively.
• Represent market access considerations in pricing, forecasting, and portfolio discussions with Finance and executive leadership, including board- and investor-facing materials.

Policy & Environmental Monitoring

• Maintain a current, working understanding of the US health policy environment — CMS rulemaking, state legislative activity, PBM and 340B reform efforts, and payer/PBM consolidation trends — and translate implications into actionable strategy shifts.
• Represent Skyhawk, as appropriate, with trade associations and policy-adjacent industry forums relevant to rare disease and orphan drug access.

Requirements, Education, Experience & Skills:

• 15+ years of progressive experience in US market access, payer strategy, or managed markets within biopharmaceuticals, including direct payer-facing account experience (not solely strategy/analytics).
• Demonstrated experience structuring or negotiating value-based agreements or other innovative payer contracts.
• Strong working knowledge of Medicare (Part D and/or Part B) and Medicaid (state and managed) coverage, reimbursement, and rebate/pricing program mechanics.
• Experience working within a small or emerging biopharma company, where the role requires building infrastructure and process rather than operating within an established one.
• Solid understanding of the US health policy landscape and its practical commercial implications.
• Bachelor's degree required.

Desired

• Direct experience leading US market access and payer strategy through an orphan or rare disease drug launch — this is the single most important differentiator for this role.
• Experience in neurology, CNS, or another high-touch specialty therapeutic area.
• Advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, or similar).