Sachin Khode has been appointed as Head of Marketing at Merck Healthcare, marking a significant progression in his career spanning pharmaceutical marketing, oncology, rare diseases and commercial strategy. With extensive experience in building and growing oncology businesses, Sachin has successfully led the commercialization and launch of multiple brands, including monoclonal antibodies, while developing patient-centric solutions and strategic stakeholder partnerships. With a strong understanding of the payer landscape and reimbursement ecosystem, he has successfully developed and executed access strategies to enhance market penetration, expand reimbursement opportunities, and improve patient access to innovative oncology therapies.
In his new leadership role at Merck Healthcare, Sachin will focus on the strategic and commercial direction of the Oncology portfolio, including brand planning, lifecycle management and growth initiatives. He will also lead the go-to-market strategy for the Rare Tumor portfolio in India, while developing innovative patient and market access models aimed at improving therapy availability, affordability and adoption. His responsibilities further include portfolio planning, identifying growth opportunities and leading a high-performing marketing team.
Before taking on the Head of Marketing role, Sachin served as Marketing Manager at Merck Group, where he worked across immunotherapies, targeted therapies and rare disease indications. Earlier, he spent over four years with Abbott, progressing from Group Product Manager – Oncology to Marketing Manager, where he managed Breast Cancer and Gastrointestinal Cancer brands and contributed to the launch of key biosimilars including Bevacizab and Priunta. He was also recognised with The President’s Award and named Group Product Manager of the Year at the Shikhar Awards in 2021. His earlier career includes Senior Product Manager and Medical Services Manager at Cipla, as well as Clinical Data Management Specialist at Tata Consultancy Services.
With a career built across Merck Healthcare, Merck Group, Abbott, Cipla and Tata Consultancy Services, Sachin brings a strong combination of oncology expertise, strategic marketing, commercialization and cross-functional leadership. His journey reflects a consistent focus on translating customer and patient insights into impactful business strategies, strengthening healthcare engagement and creating long-term value across complex and evolving therapeutic markets.