“A Day in Rare” is a series that highlights the rare strengths that make up the Sobi North America team. Our colleagues bring unique qualities to their individual roles and come together to deliver on our mission to transform the lives of people living with rare and debilitating diseases. Through our stories, we show how our shared values of care, ambition, urgency, ownership and partnership guide us as we strive to make meaningful change in our communities.
A large part of Shane Melton’s job as Strategic Account Lead for the Immunology Franchise at Sobi is to build a new team and prepare them to introduce a potential new therapy to healthcare providers. It’s a process he refers to as “turning the lights on,” and to get it right each day he draws on many aspects of his life: family and faith, physical movement, financial acuity, cross-functional collaboration, a passion for teaching and helping his community. All these attributes drive him forward as he guides his team toward an anticipated launch.
It takes grit, adaptability and a steady sense of purpose to advance care in rare diseases. He defines his role as both strategic and relational, with a focus on business engagement, partnership building and helping to remove barriers to patient care.
Raised in a small town east of Dallas by two educator parents, Shane grew up with strong ties to community and higher education. In May 2000, while finishing a graduate program in industrial and organizational psychology, Shane had a chance encounter with the owner of a small healthcare company and decided to leave academia behind to take his first role in the healthcare industry. He worked as a hospital sales representative before moving into the rare disease space in 2008, where he has remained dedicated ever since.
Today at Sobi, he is focused on the weight of the company’s mission to help patients. Here’s what a typical day looks like for Shane, and the moments that matter as he works to bring brilliant ideas to life.
Starting the day with intention
My alarm goes off around 5 a.m. I grab coffee, scan emails and then usually make eggs for my family. By 7:30, I’m back at my desk with the white noise machine on and the door closed, fully focused and prepping for the first meeting.
I find that a spiritual practice keeps me centered, so I try to begin every workday with a moment of reflection. Movement helps, too! Since the start of this year, my son and I have kept up a 100-push-ups-a-day challenge. He hasn’t missed, and on the odd day I fall short, I make it up later. These rituals help reset my mind and keep me present for my family and my team.
I live in Dallas with my wife and our two kids — our son’s a ninth grader who plays competitive baseball, and our daughter just started her first year at the University of Oklahoma. Life is full and fast-paced, but it’s a stage I really enjoy. When I’m home, I’m usually on the ball field with my son or catching up with my daughter about college life.
Outside of work and family, I’m a bit of a personal finance enthusiast — what bores most people really energizes me. I even lead a personal finance class and enjoy helping others plan for the future.
Guiding a multifaceted team
As Sobi prepares for an upcoming product launch, my team is focused on readying hospitals, pharmacies and infusion centers — a process I like to call “turning the lights on” at these sites of care. Each day involves close coordination with a team of five Directors of Strategic Accounts and 10 to 20 internal partners across sales, medical, market shaping and training to align strategies, secure institutional access and ensure accounts have the right capabilities for patients.
This is dynamic, fast-paced work that requires constant communication across regions so we can adapt quickly and deliver seamlessly. In this lead-up, what keeps me going is knowing that our collective effort helps eliminate obstacles.
Partnering across Sobi and the field
A significant part of my role centers on collaboration — partnering directly with healthcare institutions to understand their challenges and help develop solutions that make patient access smoother and faster. That applies to internal teams, too. Whether I’m refining onboarding or sharing field insights, every interaction is an opportunity to strengthen relationships and streamline processes. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see these partnerships translate into real results: effective systems, empowered teams and more patients receiving care.
This sense of fulfillment permeates every aspect of my Sobi experience. Here, I’ve been fortunate to work with strong leaders who set clear objectives and trust us to execute. I try to create the same culture within my own initiatives, where regional groups feel both the weight of our mission and the autonomy to achieve it.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Sobi’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These are voluntary, employee-led groups within Sobi, supported by our leadership team, for employees who share a common identity, interest or background to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace, and provide opportunities for professional development, networking and social support. I’ve been lucky to bond with cross-functional colleagues through mutual interests we didn’t know we shared. These groups are a great way to build unity and friendship across Sobi.
Full speed ahead
Over the past 10 weeks, my colleagues and I have been recruiting for Director of Strategic Accounts roles and Regional Business Director roles — receiving interest from more than 5,000 candidates. For all new team members, I aim to ensure an outstanding onboarding experience with enough information and motivation to hit the ground running.
Another big priority is building relationships and making sure key accounts are ready. Once we go live, we’ll shift to activation — things like nurse training, product access and billing support — so the right patients can access therapy. We can offer new hope. We’ll repeat this process with additional sites while continuing to support those already treating patients.
Flexibility and intention
At Sobi, we’re given a tremendous amount of autonomy, and I value that trust. But just because no one is looking over my shoulder, that doesn’t mean there’s time to waste. My days are typically packed from early morning until 5 p.m., at which point I squeeze in my workout. I get to shut my phone off in the evenings and spend real, quality time with my family, which I’m beyond grateful for.
For me, the most remarkable part of working at Sobi is the culture. When I started here over seven and a half years ago, there were about 70 employees in North America. Now there are more than 400, yet Sobi still feels and operates like a small company. Words like patient and culture aren’t just slogans here — they carry real meaning, drive strategy and shape how we show up for our colleagues and those we serve.
In every meeting, every collaboration and every launch plan, the central question is always: how do we make life better for people living with rare diseases? That commitment, bolstered by our values of care, ambition, urgency, ownership and partnership, inspires me to bring my best each day.