Orca Bio

Head, Market Access

Menlo Park, California, United States

Not SpecifiedCompensation
Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, HealthcareIndustries

About Orca Bio

More than one million people in the United States today are fighting blood cancer. While a traditional allogeneic stem cell transplant has been the best hope for many, the transplant itself can prove fatal or lead to serious conditions, such as graft vs. host disease. Orca Bio is a late-stage biotechnology company redefining the transplant process by developing next-generation cell therapies with the goal of providing significantly better survival rates with dramatically fewer risks. With our purified, high-precision investigational cell therapies we hope to not only replace patients' blood and immune systems with healthy ones, but also restore their lives.

Position Overview

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Head, Market Access to lead the development and execution of the U.S. market access strategy for Orca-T and future pipeline products. This individual will be a key member of the Commercial Leadership Team and will play a mission-critical role in shaping how patients, providers, and payers access and afford our therapies. This Leader will lead a high-impact team responsible for Field Market Access and U.S. Value, Access & Pricing Strategy.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and own the U.S. market access strategy for Orca-T, ensuring alignment across pricing, reimbursement, distribution, and health economics.
  • Serve as a core partner to Clinical, Medical Affairs, HEOR, and Regulatory in shaping data generation to support access and value propositions.
  • Define and drive payer evidence needs, value messages, and economic models tailored to transplant centers, integrated delivery networks, and commercial & government payers.
  • Lead launch readiness planning for Orca-T with cross-functional alignment on access priorities.
  • Directly lead and develop a team of leaders.
  • Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability within the Market Access function.
  • Oversee access tactics including payer engagement, pathway positioning, buy-and-bill and HUB support models, benefit verification, and prior authorization strategies.
  • Partner with trade and distribution to optimize site-of-care strategy and provider logistics for cell therapy delivery.
  • Collaborate with Legal and Compliance to ensure all market access activities adhere to regulatory standards and company policies.

Qualifications

  • 15+ years of U.S. market access, pricing, or payer strategy experience in biopharma.
  • Deep expertise in oncology, hematology, or cell therapy (CAR-T, T-cell therapies, or stem cell transplantation strongly preferred).
  • Extensive understanding of the transplant clinical landscape and the business of cell therapy.
  • Proven leadership in launching complex therapies in rare or specialized treatment settings (e.g., hospital-administered, specialty distribution, or provider buy-and-bill models).
  • Experience building and leading field market access teams and managing pricing and access strategy functions.
  • Demonstrated success navigating payer coverage for high-cost, curative therapies.
  • Strong grasp of HEOR, real-world evidence, and cost-effectiveness frameworks relevant to transplant and oncology decision-makers.
  • Knowledge of U.S. reimbursement landscape, including CMS, Medicare Part B/D, Medicaid, and commercial payers.
  • Excellent strategic thinker, with the ability to formulate, develop and execute strategy based on applied analytical skills.
  • Proven track record in developing market access strategy/materials & marketing initiatives for oncology products by leveraging market research, data, and analytics in highly complex and competitive markets.
  • Demonstrates confidence and ability to effectively influence senior business leaders.
  • Demonstrated ability to recognize and interpret business issues/opportunities and make sound business judgments regarding solutions.
  • Advanced PowerPoint and Excel skills.
  • Excellent verbal / written communication skills.
  • Bachelor’s degree required.
  • Advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD, or similar) strongly preferred.

Skills

Market Access Strategy
Pricing
Reimbursement
Distribution
Health Economics
Payer Evidence
Value Propositions
Economic Models
Launch Readiness Planning
Team Leadership
Biotechnology
Cell Therapies
Blood Cancer

Orca Bio

Develops and commercializes cell therapies

About Orca Bio

Orca Bio operates in the biotechnology sector, specifically focusing on cell therapies that utilize the body's own cells to treat diseases. The company works to enhance these therapies, aiming to make them safer and more effective for patients. Orca Bio's products are primarily used by healthcare providers who administer these therapies to patients as part of their treatment plans. Unlike many competitors, Orca Bio emphasizes a strong team culture and values communication with stakeholders, keeping them informed about the company's progress and developments. The goal of Orca Bio is to improve patient outcomes through advanced cell therapies, addressing conditions that currently have limited treatment options.

Menlo Park, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2016Year Founded
$186.8MTotal Funding
SERIES_DCompany Stage
Biotechnology, HealthcareIndustries
51-200Employees

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Unlimited Paid Time Off
401(k) Retirement Plan
Parental Leave

Risks

Emerging competition from BlueRock Therapeutics in stem cell therapies.
Aspen Neuroscience's advancements in personalized stem cell therapies pose a threat.
Competitors' focus on iPSC-derived therapies may overshadow Orca Bio's offerings.

Differentiation

Orca Bio focuses on high-precision cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Their lead product, Orca-T, shows promising relapse-free survival rates in clinical trials.
Orca Bio's therapies aim to replace diseased blood and immune systems with healthy ones.

Upsides

Orca-T demonstrated 87% relapse-free survival in a Phase 1b/2 trial.
FDA's expedited approval pathways could accelerate Orca Bio's market entry.
Advancements in gene editing enhance the efficacy of Orca Bio's cell therapies.

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