Head of Marketing

Head Of Marketing

Raleigh, NC

Azurity Pharmaceuticals is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company focused on innovative products that meet the needs of underserved patients. Within the ARGO franchise — our hospital-focused, targeted-delivery specialty business — we are preparing to launch D-PLEX100, a locally administered, extended-release surgical anti-infective for the prevention of surgical site infection.

We are seeking a Head of Marketing to own US brand strategy and launch for D-PLEX100. Reporting to the VP, NA Commercial Brand Executive for ARGO, this individual is the US marketing lead for the asset — responsible for brand strategy, positioning, launch planning and readiness, and in-line execution across the hospital and surgical setting. D-PLEX100 is an inpatient, DRG-reimbursed product whose adoption is governed at the account level by institutional Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) committees; success depends on winning formulary approval and building protocol-level demand, not on individual prescribing alone. The role leads a small brand team, directs external agencies, and partners closely with Market Access/HEOR, Medical Affairs, Sales, Regulatory, and Program Management to bring a differentiated, reimbursement-dependent hospital product to market.

This role has two direct reports — a Director, Brand Marketing (primarily, but not limited to, in-line HCP marketing execution and campaign/agency management) and a Senior Manager, Brand Marketing – Institutional (primarily, but not limited to, institutional and account-facing materials, congress and KOL logistics) — whom the Head of Marketing hires, develops, and leads.

The ideal candidate brings a minimum of 12 years in pharmaceutical or biotech, including at least 6 years of US marketing experience working with DRG-reimbursed hospital, surgical, and/or anti-infective products, and prior people-management experience. This is a US-focused role in a fast-paced, launch-stage environment that rewards a hands-on, collaborative leader.

Key Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Execution

• Own US brand strategy for D-PLEX100 — positioning, value proposition, messaging, and the integrated marketing plan — aligned to corporate and commercial objectives and to the DRG/NTAP reimbursement pathway.
• Develop and execute the launch and in-line marketing plan for the hospital and surgical setting, ensuring timely development, medical/legal/regulatory review, production, and deployment of campaigns and materials.
• Monitor brand performance, KPIs, and market dynamics — including P&T and formulary access, protocol adoption, and account-level uptake — to optimize strategy and inform tactical pivots.
• Commission and interpret primary and secondary market research to build surgeon, pharmacy, and institutional insight and to inform brand strategy.

Institutional Access & P&T Strategy

• Build the account-level adoption strategy for a P&T-governed product: the formulary value story, P&T submission tools, and pull-through plan that move D-PLEX100 from approval to protocol inclusion at target institutions.
• Partner with Market Access/HEOR and Contracting to align the brand on pricing, coding, DRG economics, and inpatient add-on payment (NTAP) dynamics, so the value proposition speaks to the hospital budget-holder, not only the clinician.
• Equip the field and account teams to engage pharmacy directors, infection-prevention and antimicrobial-stewardship leads, surgeons, and value-analysis committees with a consistent, compliant institutional value story.

Launch Planning & Readiness

• Lead cross-functional US launch readiness for D-PLEX100 and subsequent indications, partnering with Program Management on the integrated launch plan and readiness gates.
• Build US launch timelines, field execution strategy, and training and promotional materials, sequenced to regulatory approval and the reimbursement and coding milestones that gate the commercial model.
• Ensure demand generation and access readiness (formulary tools, P&T submissions, coding support) are sequenced together so uptake is not gated by avoidable access gaps.
• Partner with Medical Affairs, Regulatory, and external agencies to deliver high-quality, compliant promotional and educational content.

Portfolio & Lifecycle Management

• Manage D-PLEX100 across its lifecycle stages (pre-launch, launch, growth), prioritizing and allocating budget across tactics to maximize impact and return.
• Support indication-expansion planning by developing positioning and demand-generation strategy for new surgical settings as they advance.
• Continually assess the competitive and standard-of-care landscape — including infection-prevention bundles and protocol inertia — and revise strategy accordingly.
• Work with sales training, commercial partners, and medical and legal teams to develop and implement commercial training for the franchise.

Team Leadership

• Hire, develop, and lead two direct reports (Director, Brand Marketing; Senior Manager, Brand Marketing – Institutional), setting objectives, allocating work across the brand plan, and building marketing capability on the franchise.
• Provide day-to-day direction and coaching, manage performance, and ensure the team delivers compliant, on-time, on-strategy execution.

Stakeholder & Team Collaboration

• Serve as the key liaison between marketing and the hospital field force, driving alignment on strategy and messaging.
• Engage surgeon and pharmacy KOLs and institutional decision-makers to gather insight and inform brand planning and positioning.
• Collaborate with external partners, agencies, and vendors to develop omnichannel campaigns tailored to hospital and surgical audiences.
• Coordinate with the licensor/alliance interface, via Program Management, on brand-relevant deliverables and evidence needs.

Measures of Success

• Launch readiness: brand launch gates are met to defined criteria and on schedule, with promotional and training materials approved and field-ready at launch.
• Formulary access: target-account P&T submissions and formulary wins track to plan, converting approval into protocol-level adoption.
• Brand performance: awareness, protocol adoption, formulary access, and account-level uptake track to or ahead of established brand goals.
• Execution quality: campaigns and materials clear medical/legal/regulatory review on time and sustain compliant, consistent brand messaging in-market.
• Team: both direct reports are hired, ramped, and delivering to objectives, with clear development plans in place.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Life Sciences, Business, or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, including 6+ years of US in-line marketing and launch experience.
• Experience marketing DRG-reimbursed inpatient or hospital-administered products where institutional P&T / formulary access governs adoption.
• Prior people-management experience, with a track record of hiring, developing, and leading marketing talent.
• Proven ownership of brand strategy and launch for one or more products, including positioning, integrated planning, and cross-functional execution.
• Proven ability to manage multiple brands or indications simultaneously in a fast-paced, evolving organization, with a hands-on, collaborative approach.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills, including the ability to align a field force and external agencies around a single brand strategy.
• Experience partnering with Market Access/HEOR, Medical Affairs, Sales, and Regulatory on compliant promotional and educational content.
• Willingness to travel ~20–30% (including conferences, sales meetings, and field rides).

Preferred Qualifications

• Hospital anti-infective, surgical, or other inpatient buy-and-bill product experience strongly preferred.
• Direct experience building P&T / formulary access strategy and pull-through for an institutionally governed product.
• Familiarity with inpatient reimbursement and coding dynamics (MS-DRG, new technology add-on payment / NTAP, HCPCS/J-code strategy) and antimicrobial-stewardship / infection-prevention stakeholders.
• Launch experience with an in-licensed or newly acquired asset.
• Drug-device combination or novel-delivery product marketing experience.