Cytokinetics is a specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company, building on its over 25 years of pioneering scientific innovations in muscle biology, and advancing a pipeline of potential new medicines for patients suffering from diseases of cardiac muscle dysfunction.
The Associate Medical Director will support the Senior Medical Director in building the medical and compliance infrastructure required for the UK launch of MYQORZO (aficamten) in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The role combines three core functions: working closely with the Senior Medical Director to help shape UK medical strategy for the post launch phase and for future indications and pipeline assets, acting as a qualified ABPI signatory for the medical, legal and regulatory review and certification of promotional and non-promotional materials, and providing broader medical affairs support across key opinion leader engagement, congress planning and cross-functional collaboration.
This is a hands-on role suited to someone who wants to help shape process, governance and strategy from an early stage rather than step into a fully established structure. The successful candidate will work closely with the Senior Medical Director, Compliance, Legal and Regulatory Affairs colleagues to ensure the company is ready to transition from pre-launch to promotional activity following UK marketing authorisation, and to help define what comes next as the UK portfolio expands.
Key responsibilities:
Medical strategy and pipeline
- Work closely with the Senior Medical Director to help shape and refine the UK medical affairs strategy, in alignment with corporate and European strategic priorities.
- Contribute to strategic planning for the post launch phase of MYQORZO (aficamten), including how medical affairs activity should evolve once promotional activity is possible.
- Provide medical input into UK planning for future indications and pipeline assets, helping the Senior Medical Director build strategy ahead of subsequent launches.
- Support the integration of emerging clinical data, competitive intelligence and congress insight into UK medical strategy and messaging.
- Represent a UK perspective in broader European medical affairs strategy discussions, feeding local insight back into regional planning.
ABPI signatory and medical, legal and regulatory review
- Act as a qualified ABPI Code signatory, or complete signatory training rapidly given prior seniority, independently certifying promotional and non-promotional materials alongside the Senior Medical Director and the ABPI Signatory, helping to clear the current review backlog.
- Conduct medical, legal and regulatory review of promotional and non-promotional materials through Veeva Vault PromoMats, including formulary packs, HCP facing communications, digital content and congress materials.
- Apply the appropriate level of examination to company generated cover letters and other materials accompanying MHRA approved additional risk minimisation measures.
- Support the development and ongoing maintenance of the medical, legal and regulatory review standard operating procedure and associated Veeva Vault workflows.
- Maintain accurate certification records and audit trails in line with ABPI Code and internal compliance requirements.
Pre-launch compliance
- Apply the ABPI Code to the review of pre-launch communications, meeting content and materials.
- Identify and escalate compliance risk in proposed activities, including framing that could be read as promotional ahead of marketing authorisation.
- Support fair market value documentation for key opinion leader engagements, ensuring a credible and complete record of preparation and delivery activities.
- Contribute to the review of unsolicited proposals from external experts, ensuring alignment with the ABPI Code.
Key opinion leader and stakeholder engagement
- Support the Senior Medical Director in building and maintaining relationships with key opinion leaders across inherited cardiac conditions and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialities.
- Prepare briefing materials, agendas and follow up documentation for meetings, advisory activity and congress engagement.
- Support planning for medical led events including BICCS, ESC and HFA London 2027, including satellite symposia and independent medical education options.
Cross-functional collaboration
- Work with Regulatory Affairs, Legal, Compliance and Commercial colleagues to resolve process gaps, such as ownership of electronic medicines compendium updates.
- Support the Senior Medical Director in preparing internal briefing notes, position papers and updates for senior leadership.
- Contribute medical and scientific input to market access documentation, including requests for assessment from national medicines bodies.
Candidate profile:
Essential
- UK registered physician (GMC) or pharmacist (GPhC), which is a requirement for ABPI Code final signatory eligibility, either currently holding ABPI Code final signatory status or actively working towards it.
- A minimum of five years relevant medical affairs experience within pharmaceuticals or biotech, reflecting the seniority needed to take on signatory responsibility quickly rather than starting from a junior base.
- ABPI examination qualified, or already scheduled to sit the examination within the first few months of employment given the seniority expected of this role.
- Working knowledge of the ABPI Code of Practice, with practical experience of applying it to promotional and non-promotional material review.
- Experience of medical affairs within the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry, ideally including pre-launch activity.
- Confident, clear communicator, able to build relationships with clinicians and key opinion leaders as well as internal stakeholders across functions.
- Comfortable working autonomously in a lean team, with the ability to help design process where none currently exists.
- Able to think and contribute strategically, translating clinical and market insight into practical medical affairs planning, not solely an executional reviewer.
Desirable
- Experience in cardiovascular medicine, rare disease or a related specialist therapy area.
- Familiarity with Veeva Vault PromoMats or an equivalent medical, legal and regulatory review platform.
- Experience supporting congress planning, advisory boards or independent medical education.
- Awareness of the UK market access landscape, including interactions with NICE and the Danish Medicines Council or equivalent European bodies.
- Experience contributing to medical affairs strategy or country medical plans, including planning for post launch phases or pipeline and lifecycle indications.
What success looks like in the first year:
- A credible strategic contributor, with visible input into the UK medical affairs strategy and early thinking on post launch and pipeline priorities.
- Qualified and operating as an active ABPI signatory within the first few months, materially reducing the current review backlog and single point of dependency on the Senior Medical Director.
- A documented medical, legal and regulatory review standard operating procedure and Veeva Vault workflow in active use.
- Established, trusted relationships with a defined group of UK key opinion leaders in inherited cardiac conditions and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Demonstrated contribution to at least one major congress or medical led event, from planning through delivery.
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Pay Range:
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.
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