Market Development Intern

Ardelyx•Waltham, MA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Ardelyx is a publicly traded commercial biopharmaceutical company founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx has two commercial products approved in the United States, IBSRELA® (tenapanor) and XPHOZAH® (tenapanor). Ardelyx has agreements for the development and commercialization of tenapanor outside of the U.S. Kyowa Kirin commercializes PHOZEVEL® (tenapanor) for hyperphosphatemia in Japan. A New Drug Application for tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia has been approved in China with Fosun Pharma. Knight Therapeutics commercializes IBSRELA in Canada. Position Summary: The Market Development Intern will support the Market Development and Commercial Strategy team in building and operationalizing a structured approach to early commercial assessments of external business development opportunities. The role will focus on defining which asset and disease-area characteristics should be considered and prioritized when evaluating external opportunities, and then applying that framework to one or more specific disease areas (e.g., Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

Requirements

Currently pursuing a degree in Business, Life Sciences, Health Economics, Public Health, or a related field.
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to synthesize scientific, commercial, and strategic inputs.
Interest in market development, commercial strategy, and business development in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Proficiency with PowerPoint and Excel; ability to present complex ideas in clear, structured formats.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable engaging with cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with drug development, basic clinical concepts, and therapeutic area landscapes.
Experience conducting structured secondary research (market, competitive, or scientific).
Exposure to frameworks for market assessment, opportunity prioritization, or portfolio strategy.

Responsibilities

Develop an early commercial assessment framework
Identify key asset and disease-area characteristics that should inform whether an external opportunity is of interest (e.g., unmet need, market size, competitive landscape, strategic fit, synergy with existing portfolio).
Explore whether and how these characteristics should be prioritized or weighted to support consistent strategic decision-making.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Corporate Development, R&D, Brand teams, and Commercial Operations to gather input and align on criteria.
Apply the framework to selected disease areas
As time allows, apply the assessment framework to one or more disease areas (e.g., IBS-D) and evaluate how specific assets might fit within the existing pipeline.
Compare opportunities across disease areas, highlighting where they meet or do not meet the defined criteria and how they stack up relative to each other.
Synthesize findings into clear, actionable recommendations for the Market Development and Commercial Strategy team.
Research and internal alignment
Conduct secondary research to understand how other companies approach early commercial assessments and portfolio fit.
Review and evaluate past internal work related to opportunity assessments, market development, and commercial strategy to ensure the framework builds on existing thinking.
Present interim versions of the framework and disease-area assessments, gather feedback, and incorporate input into refined deliverables.