Cytokinetics is a late-stage, specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class muscle activators and next-in-class muscle inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases in which cardiac muscle performance is compromised. As a leader in muscle biology and the mechanics of muscle performance, the company is developing small molecule drug candidates specifically engineered to impact myocardial muscle function and contractility.
Job purpose
We are seeking a head of Legal and Compliance - Europe to join our Legal Department in Zug, Switzerland. This position will be our first legal hire in Europe and will assist with the build out of the company’s European operations and preparations for the launch of the company’s first medication, which is expected in 2026. This position will have responsibility for advising colleagues across Europe in Commercial, Medical Affairs and other departments interacting with health care providers, patient groups, payers, government agencies and their employees and other stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. This is an in-office role and will report to the head of Commercial Legal based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, with a dotted line to the SVP, Head of Europe.
Responsibilities
- Providing legal and compliance support to a fast-paced and growing biotechnology organization, with specific responsibility for delivering timely legal and compliance advice to the company’s Commercial, Medical Affairs and other departments interacting with health care providers, patient groups, payers, government agencies and their employees, pharmacies, and other stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. The person in this role will sit on the company’s European leadership team.
- These responsibilities will include advising on:
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- Promotional efforts
- Medical Affairs activities
- External events arranged or attended by client groups, such as congresses, symposia, etc.
- Conduct of advisory boards and speaker programs
- Patient advocacy and patient organizations
- Fair market value determinations
- Competition related issues
- GDPR and other privacy matters
- Health technology assessments and similar pricing and reimbursement activities
- Other responsibilities will include:
- Working with the European leadership team to establish and foster a culture of compliance
- Working closely and collaboratively with the company’s Chief Compliance Officer and the compliance organization to establish policies and procedures and implement training, monitoring, auditing and other compliance-related activities.
- Leading or supporting the negotiation of agreements necessary for the commercialization of the company’s medications, such as those with payers, pharmacies, supply chain and logistics vendors, and marketing organizations.
- Reviewing day to day contracts
- Adapting, implementing and leading the company’s compliance program in Europe
- Travel will be required for this role.
Qualifications
- Admission to practice as an attorney.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience as in-house counsel or associate at a major law firm with a background in biotechnology, pharma or healthcare related matters. A combination of both in-house and law firm experience is a plus.
- Deep experience advising on relevant heath care laws and regulations across Europe
- The successful candidate will be an experienced leader and team player and demonstrate a strong commitment to ethics and integrity.
- Detailed-oriented business enabler with a high level of intellectual, professional and interpersonal agility and flexibility.
- Excellent communication, influencing and client service skills.
- Well-organized, self-starting, entrepreneurial, hardworking, practical, can-do person with the ability to manage numerous projects simultaneously under deadline pressure.
- Ability to form strong working relationships with all levels of management, employees, and external stakeholders while maintaining firm adherence to proper legal standards.
- Broad international experience across Europe. Prior work with a U.S.-headquartered biopharmaceutical company is preferred.
- Fluency in English
Our employees come from different backgrounds, and we celebrate those differences. We are looking for the best candidates for our open roles, but do not expect applicants to meet every qualification in order to be considered. If you are excited about what you could accomplish at Cytokinetics and believe you can add value to our team, we would love to hear from you.
Please review our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy PRIOR to applying.
Our passion is anchored in robust scientific thinking, grounded in integrity and critical thinking. We keep the patient front and center in all we do – all actions and decisions are in service of the patient and their caregivers. We champion integrity, ethics, doing the right thing, and being our best selves.
Please visit our website at: www.cytokinetics.com
Cytokinetics is an Equal Opportunity Employer
