AstraZeneca Posted November 4, 2026

Medical Science Liaison - Rare Disease META+

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Full time
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About this opportunity

Medical Science Liaison – Rare Disease (META+)

ABOUT ASTRAZENECA

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

SITE DESCRIPTION  

AstraZeneca is experiencing a significant transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, driven by a commitment to advancing healthcare, innovation, and sustainable growth. Building on our global legacy, AZ KSA is rapidly evolving its operations to better serve patients, collaborate with healthcare stakeholders, and contribute to the ambitious goals outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030. We are investing in talent, digital solutions, and new ways of working; all designed to enhance our impact on patient outcomes and reinforce our leadership in therapeutic areas. This dynamic environment calls for visionary, agile professionals who thrive in change and are motivated to help shape the future of healthcare in KSA.  

ROLE SUMMARY

AstraZeneca is accelerating the expansion of our geographical footprint in rare diseases following the acquisition of Alexion in 2021. Rare disease is a high-growth therapy area with rapid innovation and significant unmet medical need. Over 7,000 rare diseases are known today – yet less than 1% of them have an approved treatment.

As we build our position as a Rare Disease leader, we seek a Rare Disease Medical Science Liaison to join our Medical Affairs team in Jeddah, Western Region, KSA.

As a Medical Science Liaison – Rare Disease you'll play a pivotal role in channelling our scientific capabilities to bring an important new therapy in a rare disease setting into clinical practice, making a positive impact on patients' lives.

The Medical Science Liaison – Rare Disease is a professional with scientific, clinical and therapeutic area expertise responsible for providing medical and scientific support to healthcare professionals aligned to the use of medicines in our combined rare disease portfolio. You will report into the Medical Manager Rare Disease.

In this role you will be expected to identify and cultivate relationships with HCPs working in the field including physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and pharmacists as well as other key strategic partners, such as patient advocacy groups. You will conduct educational programs on disease state and the appropriate use of our medicines, consistent with Medical Affairs plans and objectives. You will also respond to customer inquiries to ensure focused clinical and scientific information that supports the appropriate use of these medicines.

Additionally you will deliver clinical and scientific information to support appropriate use of the medicine in the relevant therapy area in a patient focused manner; maintain expertise in disease state management, keep abreast of emerging therapies and the therapeutic landscape; gather customer insights regarding the use of the medicine in the wider therapeutic landscape to help inform medical and commercial strategies while adhering to internal standards, processes and complying with regulatory and compliance requirements.

What you’ll do

Build, enhance, maintain the engagement with scientific leaders (KEEs)

Provide AZ with an understanding of the local medical community, clinical practice trends, HCP insight and real or perceived gaps in current scientific knowledge and medical treatment

Share emerging data with HCPs, discussing all aspects of the data in a scientific, objective, and balanced way.

Responsible for identifying and developing scientifically based relationships with KEEs in Saudi Arabia market.

Work with HCPs as partners in scientific activities that help advance disease understanding and are consistent with Medical Affairs strategy & objectives, such as: Interact in the field with the medical community in the context of various medical projects such as clinical trials, Non-Interventional Studies, Investigator Sponsored Studies (ISSs), scientific exchange.

Identify potential speakers and train speakers as appropriate for local events

Provide recommendations for advisory board/Round Table discussion participants and serve as faculty/facilitators for advisory board meetings.

Present scientific data to HCPs in both group (Medically led meetings) and one on one setting.

Facilitate continuing medical education events for HCPs.

Develop or initiate scientific programs to explore unmet medical needs in priority disease area(s) through obtaining and sharing valuable insights

Provide actionable insights that enhance the value and appropriate use of AZ products and disease management to internal stakeholders

Engage in strategic planning meetings with payer customers or hospital decision makers where the discussion of scientific topics is clearly separated from discussion of promotional and/or other business topics.

Demonstrate expertise and knowledge of AZ products, emerging therapies, competitors, patient and treatment trends, clinical trials, and scientific activities within the Disease Area and continuously updates this expertise and knowledge based on training direction and approved resources provided.

Support the Medical Manager and Marketing Team in development of non-promotional and promotional materials/programs.

Act as scientific expert in priority disease area for internal stakeholders

Continuously acquire and update necessary scientific knowledge on therapeutic area and relevant compounds.

Provide the AZ internal stakeholders with an understanding of the local medical community, clinical practice, trends and real or perceived gaps in current scientific knowledge and medical treatment, competitor information

Provide scientific support at AZ sponsored educational events

Gather, monitor, and share competitor knowledge that may affect company strategies

Planning and executing regional medical activities during the product launch processes.

Medical Background Training

Serve as a medical resource for the sales representatives and accurately answer any medical question they may have to help them utilize their approved materials and to help them understand therapeutic area.

Participate/develop/conduct therapeutic area and product trainings and periodic scientific updates to the internal customers

Medical Information

Respond to unsolicited requests for information about unapproved AZ products or unapproved uses of approved products, presenting such information in an objective, well balanced, substantiated manner that is scientific in tone and content, free of promotional messages, truthful, and is not misleading

Demonstrate appropriate response and documents the provision of accurate, scientific data in response to unsolicited scientific questions posed by Healthcare providers with Company Policies, and applicable laws, regulations, and ethical standards.

Essential for the role

Bachelor’s degree in medicine, Pharmacy, Pharmacology.

Experience in rare disease or oncology therapeutic area is a plus

3 or more years of experience in the Pharmaceutical industry or equivalent

Demonstrated expertise in synthesizing scientific information and communicating it effectively at peer level with HCPs.

Excellent ability to learn and capacity for scientific concepts and knowledge.

Direct patient care experience or equivalent experience in the pharmaceutical industry

Strong presentation skills - effectively communicating medical data/concepts

Excellent computer skills (Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.)

Excellent project management ability

Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills

Strong leadership capabilities with the ability to work independently

 

 

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients, and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth, and development. We’re on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.

So, what’s next?

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you.

Are you ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the table? Brilliant! We have one seat available, and we hope it’s yours.

Where can I find out more?

Our Social Media, Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn

Follow AstraZeneca on Facebook

Follow AstraZeneca on Instagram

Date Posted

04-Nov-2026

Closing Date

13-Nov-2026

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Medical Affairs
Therapeutic area
Rare Disease
Location
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Medical Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1653 comparable Medical Affairs roles across 178 biopharma companies.

1653Comparable roles tracked
1581Currently active
178Companies hiring similar roles
64Countries represented

Salary context

372 of 1653 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · 2027 Future Talent Program - Global Medical Affairs - Intern · Merck $39,908/yr – $111,111/yr
Peer group range $75,510 – $454,000 (median $214,100)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1653 comparable roles

United States729
China180
Japan94
United Kingdom71
Germany67
India63

+ 58 more countries

Seniority mix

1019 of 1653 peers have a known seniority level

Senior256
Director255
Manager220
Associate Director90
Associate80
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc39
Senior Director36
Executive/VP27
Principal16

Therapeutic area mix

576 of 1653 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology246
Neuroscience83
Immunology55
Cardiovascular / CVRM48
Rare Disease48
Dermatology & Aesthetics39
Respiratory21
Vaccines & Infectious Disease15
Gastroenterology13
Ophthalmology8

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

65%similar
Amgen Inc. Remote, United States Director
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH Frankfurt am Main, Germany Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
AstraZeneca Bangkok, Thailand Director
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. Remote, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. Remote, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
Amgen Inc. Las Vegas, United States
Same function Same therapeutic area

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

65%
Global Safety Medical Director, Rare Disease
Amgen Inc. · Remote, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
65%
Senior Medical Science Liaison - Rare Diseases East
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. · Remote, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
65%
Head Rare Diseases, US Medical Affairs
Biogen · Cambridge, United States · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
65%
Health Economics & Outcomes Research Senior Expert - Rare Disease
UCB · Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.