Full-Time

Rare Disease Sales Specialist

Posted on 9/4/2026

Kyowa Kirin

Kyowa Kirin

1,001-5,000 employees

Global specialty pharma focused on antibodies

Compensation Overview

$180.5k - $202.4k/yr

+ Profit sharing + Annual sales bonus + 401(k) company matching

Cleveland, OH, USA

In Person

Must live in or be willing to relocate to the Cleveland area; overnight travel within the assigned territory may be required.

Bachelor's, MBA, PharmD, MD

Category
Sales & Account Management (1)
Required Skills
CRM
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Science or Business, an MBA, or a Pharmacy/Medical degree.
  • At least 5 years of specialty pharmaceutical sales experience.
  • Demonstrated success in improving patient outcomes by enabling access to appropriate therapies.
  • Ability to discuss therapeutic strategies to inform and influence healthcare decision-makers.
  • Proven ability to develop and apply clinical and business expertise, along with effective selling skills.
  • Strong verbal, presentation, influencing, and written communication skills.
  • Must reside within or be willing to relocate to the assigned geography.
  • Ability to adapt to changing business needs, priorities, and work responsibilities.
  • Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning, professional development, and self-improvement.
  • A valid United States driver's license with a clean driving record.
  • Ability to travel overnight within the assigned territory as business needs require.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
  • Strong attention to detail and the ability to work effectively under tight timelines and adapt to complex, changing business environments.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively across diverse teams.
  • Demonstrated cultural awareness and the ability to build consensus within a multinational organization.
Responsibilities
  • Maintain clinical knowledge to engage effectively with endocrinologists, geneticists, rheumatologists, and other healthcare professionals regarding X-Linked Hypophosphatemia and Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia.
  • Manage patient identification by understanding the patient journey to support timely diagnosis and enable appropriate access to therapy.
  • Understand and implement the marketing plan, accurately articulate the value proposition, and use only on-label and approved marketing materials to achieve sales and patient objectives.
  • Communicate disease-state, product, and formulary information in a truthful, balanced, and non-misleading manner in accordance with compliance policies and applicable laws.
  • Manage the assigned territory and execute the brand strategy to maximize performance within the assigned customer population.
  • Analyze local and regional business and managed-market trends to develop short- and long-term territory goals supporting a successful business plan.
  • Work compliantly in a cross-functional matrix environment involving Patient Services, Specialty Infusion Pharmacies, and Managed Markets while handling confidential patient information in accordance with privacy requirements.
  • Build productive partnerships with internal stakeholders to develop compliant selling strategies aligned with company and territory business plans.
  • Seek guidance from management, Compliance, or Legal when a proposed activity may violate company policies or applicable laws.
  • Use a consultative, solution-oriented selling approach to meet the needs of healthcare professionals treating patients with X-Linked Hypophosphatemia and Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia.
  • Manage territory marketing resources and promotional speaker program budgets in accordance with company compliance policies.
  • Share best practices and participate in regional and national meetings.
  • Use the customer relationship management system to document account profiles and pre-call and post-call activities.
  • Refer requests for off-label information to the medical department through the Medical Information Request process.
  • Adhere to relevant regulatory and compliance guidelines and company policies.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience executing marketing strategies at the local level.
  • Demonstrated business and strategic planning skills, including the ability to identify unique selling opportunities and adapt to changing market conditions.
  • Demonstrated understanding of the managed-care landscape and its impact on business.
  • Strong collaboration skills and a proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.
  • Experience selling products requiring extensive coordination with Patient Services.
  • Working knowledge of the rare disease market.
  • Demonstrated ability to analyze complex technical data and develop strategic, actionable business plans.

1) What does this company do? Kyowa Kirin develops specialty pharmaceutical drugs with a focus on nephrology, oncology, and immunology, built on a foundation of fermentation technology and antibody science. 2) How does this company's product(s) work? It uses fermentation-derived biology and antibody-based approaches to create therapies that target kidney disease, cancer, and immune-related conditions, delivered as approved medicines after research, development, and clinical testing. 3) How is this company different from its competitors? It blends deep fermentation and microbiology expertise with antibody technology from its history, plus a global specialty-drug focus, resulting from a merger of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo and Kirin Pharma that combined fermentation know-how with pharmaceutical resources. 4) What is this company's goal? To develop and commercialize innovative treatments that address unmet medical needs in nephrology, oncology, and immunology on a global scale.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Tokyo, Japan

Founded

1885

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • FDA selected Sanford for PreCheck on June 30, 2026, accelerating biologics launch readiness.
  • Crysvita expanded adult XLH dosing in May 2026, extending treatment uptake and persistence.
  • 2025 revenue reached ¥496.8 billion, and 2026 guidance rises to ¥520.0 billion.

What critics are saying

  • Crysvita sales still dominate; any reimbursement squeeze or safety issue hits 2026 results fast.
  • Sanford slips past 2027, and the FDA PreCheck advantage evaporates into delay and cost.
  • March 2026 leadership turnover, including CFO Motohiko Kawaguchi, disrupts execution and accountability.

What makes Kyowa Kirin unique

  • Crysvita remains the only approved XLH therapy, protecting a rare-disease franchise in 2026.
  • Sanford, North Carolina gives Kyowa Kirin a first U.S. biologics manufacturing base by 2027.
  • Benchling deployment in Tokyo and Fuji formalizes AI-enabled R&D workflows across discovery.

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Benefits

401(k) Company Match

Paid Vacation

Paid Sick Leave

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Hybrid Work Options

Pet Insurance

Tuition Assistance

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

-2%
Yahoo Finance
Aug 26th, 2026
Cognizant wins Kyowa Kirin AI R&D deal to implement Benchling platform in Japan

Cognizant Technology Solutions will support Kyowa Kirin in implementing Benchling, an AI-driven R&D platform, at the Tokyo and Fuji Research Parks in Japan. The engagement includes platform setup, data migration, ongoing maintenance, and workflow optimization for drug discovery research. The deal reinforces Cognizant's enterprise-scale AI automation capabilities in life sciences digitalization. However, it is unlikely to shift near-term catalysts around broader AI adoption or risks that AI may erode demand for labour-intensive services. Cognizant's narrative projects $24.9 billion revenue and $3.1 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 5.2% yearly revenue growth. The most optimistic analysts forecast revenue reaching $26.1 billion and earnings of $3.9 billion by 2029, depending on how AI investments translate into higher-margin work.

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Kyowa Kirin modernizes with Cognizant and Benchling R&D with AI and automation.

Kyowa Kirin modernizes with Cognizant and Benchling R&D with AI and automation. Last updated: August 17, 2026 12:53 pm Kyowa Kirin has chosen Cognizant and Benchling to support the rollout of Benchling's cloud-based R&D platform at its Tokyo Research Park and Fuji Research Park. The platform brings experimental planning, data collection, AI tools, and workflow automation into one place. Researchers can connect experimental equipment directly to Benchling, allowing data to be captured as structured and searchable records instead of being entered manually. That matters as Kyowa Kirin's research work becomes more complex and its pipeline expands. The company expects the platform to help speed up activities ranging from identifying drug targets to selecting new drug candidates. Researchers will also be able to search past experiments, generate reports, examine relationships between studies, and support molecular design using the platform's analytical and AI capabilities. Cognizant will handle the implementation using Benchling, including platform setup, data migration, deployment, and the ongoing upkeep too. This partnership shows where pharma research and development is headed, more or less, these days. More of the work around data handling and routine processes is being moved into connected digital systems, while AI is being brought closer to the research itself rather than treated as a separate tool. ITBT Staffwriter is an in-house contributor at IT Business Today, responsible for delivering timely News and QuickBytes. The author covers the latest developments across IT, tech, and enterprise solutions to keep readers informed with concise and impactful updates. August 17, 2026

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