Head, Pharmaceutical Product Innovation (Sr. Director

Head, Pharmaceutical Product Innovation

This role will operate at the intersection of patient experience, product design, lifecycle strategy, technical development, and commercial value creation. The Head, Pharmaceutical Product Innovation will lead cross functional efforts to identify opportunities spanning delivery, formulation, dosing, administration model, device strategy, route of administration, and site-of-care optimization that improve patient and provider experience while driving meaningful strategic and economic value for Astellas.

The role will partner closely with stakeholders across Pharmaceutical Development, CMC, Medical, Clinical Development, Regulatory, Commercial, Market Access, Business Development, Manufacturing, Device Engineering, and external partners to translate patient journey and healthcare provider workflow insights into actionable product innovation strategies and prioritized business cases.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Establish and lead a focused Product Innovation capability designed to identify and advance high value innovation opportunities across the pipeline and on-market portfolio.
• Drive a strategic and commercially grounded approach to product innovation centred on improving how therapies fit into the day-to-day realities of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
• Lead the co-creation of the long-term operating model, governance approach, and cross-functional engagement strategy for Product Innovation within the organization.

• Lead portfolio-level identification and prioritization of product innovation opportunities spanning:
• delivery systems
• formulation
• dosing strategy
• route and method of administration
• device strategy
• treatment setting/site-of-care optimization
• administration workflow simplification
• Evaluate opportunities across both internally developed and externally acquired (Business Development) assets, including opportunities for lifecycle differentiation and expanded strategic value creation.
• Assess innovation opportunities using structured frameworks balancing desirability, feasibility, viability, operational complexity, strategic fit, and financial impact.

• Convene and lead matrixed teams of SMEs across Pharmaceutical Development, CMC, Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Commercial, Market Access, Manufacturing, Device Engineering, Quality, Business Development, and external partners.
• Drive alignment across stakeholders to advance prioritized opportunities from early concept generation through business case development, governance review, and integration into product development strategy and Quality Target Product Profile (QTPP) planning.
• Lead through influence in a highly matrixed environment without direct operational ownership of all contributing functions.

• Lead efforts to map and analyze patient, caregiver, and healthcare provider experiences to identify friction points, unmet needs, workflow inefficiencies, and barriers to adoption, persistence, or access.
• Translate patient journey insights into actionable product innovation and lifecycle strategy recommendations.
• Ensure patient and provider realities are incorporated early into product design and development considerations.

• Lead development of robust cross-functional business cases quantifying clinical, operational, commercial, reimbursement, and financial implications of product innovation opportunities.
• Evaluate potential impact on:
• market differentiation
• patient persistence and adherence
• access and reimbursement
• healthcare provider workflow
• treatment burden
• lifecycle extension
• market share and long-term portfolio value
• Present strategic recommendations and investment considerations to senior leadership and governance bodies.

• Partner with Asset Team leadership and senior stakeholders to secure sponsorship, resources, and organizational alignment to deliver prioritized innovation initiatives.
• Maintain executive-level visibility into innovation priorities, risks, trade-offs, and implementation considerations.
• Drive a focused portfolio of high-value innovation programs rather than a broad pipeline of loosely owned concepts.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD degree with 5 years, MSc degree with…