The Director / Senior Director, Channel Strategy & Patient Services will build out the distribution channel and patient support capabilities behind Capricor's U.S. launch. You will work with Commercial, Market Access, Finance, Medical, and IT, plus external trade, hub, and specialty pharmacy partners, to develop channel strategy, patient services infrastructure, and affordability programs across the portfolio.

This is a hands-on role owning the channel and patient services foundation and growing the function as the business scales. The right candidate has pharmaceutical distribution and patient services operations experience, works well in a growth-stage environment, and is comfortable moving between planning and execution.

Responsibilities

• Drive Capricor’s U.S. distribution channel strategy, including 3PL selection and oversight, specialty distributor network design, trade agreements, and product flow from manufacturer to dispensing channel.
• Build and run Capricor’s U.S. patient services model across therapeutic areas, including referral intake, benefits investigation, prior authorization, and case management.
• Partner with internal teams to support the selection, onboarding, and ongoing management of 3PL, specialty distributor, hub, and specialty pharmacy partners, ensuring clear SLAs, KPIs, and governance frameworks.
• Map, standardize, and enhance patient journeys across programs to reduce access friction and support timely initiation of therapy.
• Develop and maintain SOPs and training materials for patient and provider facing interactions, ensuring alignment with regulatory, legal, and compliance expectations.
• Run financial assistance and affordability programs, including copay, patient assistance, and bridge/quick-start, with external vendors.
• Support site onboarding and certification processes for institutionally administered or infused therapies, working closely with treatment centers and operational partners.
• Collaborate closely with Market Access to align patient services workflows with payer requirements, reimbursement expectations, and access pathways.
• Partner with Commercial Operations and IT to ensure effective data capture, reporting, and system integration across vendor ecosystems.
• Develop dashboards, KPIs, and reporting insights to monitor program performance, patient experience, and operational effectiveness.
• Define KPIs and build the launch-readiness measurement framework for channel and patient services, covering pre-launch leading indicators and post-launch performance tracking.
• Manage relationships and budgets with channel, hub, and patient services vendors; lead RFPs and contracting in partnership with Procurement and Legal.
• Build a small team of patient services and channel operations staff over time, and advise Commercial leadership on how the team should grow.
• Run ad-hoc analyses and scenario evaluations for Commercial leadership and internal stakeholders.
• Establish processes, templates, and tools so channel and patient services execution stays consistent as the company grows.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or clinical background (e.g., RN, PharmD) preferred.
• 10+ years of experience across pharmaceutical channel strategy, 3PL and specialty distribution management, patient services, hub operations, or specialty pharmacy oversight within biotech or pharma.
• Demonstrated success building or scaling patient support programs for rare disease or specialty therapies.
• Experience supporting product launches, ideally in rare diseases or complex infused therapies.
• Deep expertise in pharmaceutical distribution models (3PL, specialty distributor, specialty pharmacy), benefits verification, prior authorization workflows, case management, and financial assistance programs.
• Strong operational discipline, empathy, and vendor partnership experience.
• Can explain complex channel and patient services topics clearly to leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced, growth-stage environment.
• Has led or contributed to a commercial launch and built channel and patient services capabilities from scratch at a pre-commercial or early-commercial company.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Professional office or remote environment, with occasional travel to trade, hub, and specialty pharmacy partners, treatment centers, and internal planning meetings.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and cross-functional stakeholders in a launch environment.
• Extended periods of computer-based work, including video conferencing and collaborative software platforms.
• Occasional domestic travel (approximately 10 to 15%) for team meetings, vendor engagements, and industry conferences.