Real World Data Scientist (Associate Director)
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About Astellas
At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed. We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under‑served disease areas and in life‑threatening or life‑limiting diseases and conditions. We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage. Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient‑centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division. We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real‑world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their caregivers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes. Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.
The Opportunity
Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!
We are hiring an experienced real‑world data scientist to join our Real‑World Data Science (RWDS) team. As an Associate Director of RWDS, you will be an analytic researcher informing and conducting Real World Data (RWD) studies at any time in the drug lifecycle. You will work directly within the RWDS team to execute observational studies for internal and external consumption and partner closely with Development, Medical Affairs, and Pharmacovigilance/Pharmacoepidemiology colleagues in their research. Additionally, you will collaborate closely with others in RWDS, Biostatistics and the broader Quantitative Sciences & Evidence Generation department to enhance our RWD and analytics offerings. RWDS is multidisciplinary and provides RWE strategic input, study design, statistical and programming support to projects. Team members apply their unique knowledge, skills and experience in teams to deliver decision‑shaping real‑world evidence.
Hybrid Working
At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimise the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.
Key Activities For This Role
- Provide best‑in‑class data science support to Astellas drug development programs & marketed products in relation to RWD.
- Design observational studies (primary and/or secondary data).
- Execute (program and analyse) observational studies using in‑house RWD or oversee vendors or other RWDS staff in executing observational studies.
- Write, review, or contribute to key study documents to ensure optimal methodological & statistical presentation. These documents include protocols, analysis plans, tables and figure (TLF) specifications, study reports, publications.
- Ensure efficient planning, execution and reporting of analyses.
- Advise as subject matter expert in specific data access partnerships.
- Represent the company on matters related to RWD analysis at meetings with regulatory authorities, key opinion leaders and similar experts/bodies as needed.
- Contribute to vendor selection with partner functions.
- Participate in the creation and upkeep of best practices, tools/macros, and standards related to methods, data and data analysis at Astellas.
- Collaborate with RWDS and Biostatistics colleagues and cross‑functional teams in Development, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance.
- Mentor and guide junior members of the RWD Analytics team.
Essential Knowledge & Experience
- Proven pharmaceutical industry hands‑on experience in design and execution of observational studies and analysing RWD, including major EHR and claims databases from the US, UK, EU, and/or Japan.
- Experience in analysing a diverse set of RWD study types (description, association, prediction, causation), including incidence & prevalence, treatment pattern, healthcare resource utilisation, cost, outcomes, and effectiveness.
- Advanced and broad knowledge of statistical methods, along with understanding of industry practices & guidelines related to the analysis of RWD.
- Proficiency in SQL, and SAS or R required, with working knowledge of Python beneficial.
- Well‑versed in data visualization, statistical analysis, and machine learning methodologies.
- Proficiency in non‑interventional research design for primary data collection (i.e., prospective) as well as secondary use of data.
- Committed to seeking innovative methodology to generate data‑driven insights.
- Experience working across geographies with globally distributed teams.
- Self‑starting performer with the demonstrated capacity to operate both independently and collaboratively in a fast‑paced, team‑oriented setting.
- Excellent communication and collaboration, and experienced working in cross‑functional teams.
Preferred Experience
- Experience with the Oncology therapeutic area an advantage.
Education
- A doctorate or master's degree in statistics, data science, pharmacoepidemiology or a similar discipline.
Additional Information
- This is a permanent, full‑time position, based in the United Kingdom.
- This position follows our hybrid working model. Role requires a blend of home and minimum once a quarter in office. Flexibility may be required in line with business needs.
Seniority Level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment Type
Full‑time
Job Function
Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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