Categories: Pharmaceutical, Market Access, Healthcare Strategy, Stakeholder Management

Job Description

Are you a strategic market access professional ready to lead the way in securing patient access to innovative medicines? As Patient Access Pharma Lead, you'll design and implement comprehensive access strategies, navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, and provide functional leadership to cross-functional teams. This is your opportunity to shape the future of patient access for life-changing therapies in the Netherlands.

Welcome to Our Team

Our Value & Patient Access team is responsible for ensuring (reimbursed) access to our medicines and vaccines. Our work spans from market preparation and launch of new medicines and vaccines from our pipeline, to securing reimbursement for our products and shaping an optimal access landscape—leveraging Real World Evidence to substantiate the value of our products. We strive for broad access to our innovative medicines and vaccines and optimization of health gains for patients, society, and the healthcare system. Join us as we build and expand our capabilities to meet the evolving challenges of the Dutch healthcare environment.

Purpose of the Position

The Patient Access Pharma Lead is a newly created strategic position within our Value & Patient Access team. In this role, you will lead projects as the primary coordinator for launching a new cardiovascular drug in 2028, providing direction to a cross-functional team. You will engage with ZIN, the Ministry of Health, healthcare insurers, and other key stakeholders to ensure strong value delivery. Your initial responsibilities will include designing and executing pricing and reimbursement strategies to maximize patient access for our non-oncology portfolio—which includes cardiovascular, immunology, eyecare, and vaccines for high-risk groups. Furthermore, you are responsible for reimbursement submissions and you navigate complex reimbursement processes.

Main Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive patient access plans that solve complex access challenges while balancing multiple stakeholder interests, ensuring optimal access throughout the product lifecycle

• Create solid value propositions for our medicines by collecting and interpreting scientific evidence, performing comparator analyses, and determining content and strategy for reimbursement dossiers based on regulatory feedback

• Ensure flawless filing of reimbursement dossiers to ZIN or cieBAG, effectively navigate GVS procedures, medicines lock, hospital procedures, and alternative access pathways (PICO-scoping, scientific positioning)

• Provide functional leadership to cross-functional launch teams, working closely with Medical Affairs, Policy, Communications & Patient Advocacy, HE-OR managers, RWE managers, and franchise colleagues

• Establish and maintain strong networks with key decision-makers at ZIN, Ministry of Health, healthcare insurers, cieBAG, scientific experts, and guideline committees to secure optimal reimbursement and pricing

Your Profile

• University degree in health economics, pharmacy, pharmaco-economics, life sciences, or related field

• Minimum 7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry as market access manager or lead, with specialized depth in market and patient access, and demonstrable HTA and health economics experience

• Ability to provide functional leadership to cross-functional teams.

• In-depth understanding of the Dutch healthcare system, reimbursement procedures, pricing principles, and regulatory pathways (ZIN, GVS, cieBAG)

• Strong strategic thinking, analytical skills, and business acumen with proven ability to solve complex problems and align diverse stakeholder positions

• Outstanding relationship building and negotiation skills with ability to establish trust-based partnerships with senior stakeholders and navigate complex organizational networks

• Fluency in Dutch and English

What we offer

We welcome you to a truly global, dynamic and challenging environment with great opportunities for personal development. Our benefits are very competitive, and the summary below will give you an idea of what you can expect.

• Competitive salary and a 3% year-end bonus;

• 35,5 days of leave;

• Attractive collective health care insurance package with considerable reduction rates;

• Solid Pension Plan;

• Incentive Plan;

• Company car

• Numerous training, coaching and e-learning modules for long term job opportunities and development.

Required Skills:

Accountability, Adaptability, Clinical Pharmacy, Creativity, Customer Experience Management, Data Analysis, Data Management, Developing Pricing Strategies, Digital Marketing Analytics, Healthcare Policies, Health Economics Research, Inpatient Pharmacy, Insurance, Interpersonal Relationships, Market Access, Market Research, Outcomes Research, Patient Administration, Pharmaceutical Management, Pharmaceutical Market, Pharmacy, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

Preferred Skills:

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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. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

02/18/2026

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