Director, Search and Evaluation New Areas

Role Summary

Director, Search and Evaluation New Areas supports Biogen's corporate strategy by proactively identifying and scientifically evaluating external growth opportunities in Rare Disease for inbound partnering, licensing, and M&A. The role contributes to expanding Biogen's pipeline and helps define strategy in a New Disease Area.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with Corporate Strategy and R&D Leadership to understand external business strategy and search priorities within new Rare Disease therapeutic areas.
• Proactively identify and scientifically evaluate external growth opportunities for inbound partnering or acquisition in new Rare Disease therapeutic areas.
• Survey the emerging scientific and technological competitive landscape in new Rare Disease therapeutic areas.
• Benchmark opportunities and propose prioritization within Rare Disease therapeutic areas for further evaluation.
• Develop assessment, scenarios, prosecution rationales, and recommendations for external opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional teams in early evaluation of opportunities, focusing on scientific and technical merit to advance or exclude opportunities; integrate data sets with an interdisciplinary perspective.
• Lead scientific and clinical cross-functional due diligence deal teams to advance external opportunities to term sheet and develop project execution strategy.
• Build networks internally and externally to survey the landscape across pre-clinical, near-clinical, and clinical development programs.
• Scout new external opportunities through systematic screens, conferences, congresses, and maintaining a network in the scientific/clinical and biotech/pharma/VC community.
• Create written summaries of evaluations as memos and visual presentations; lead governance discussions with senior leadership framing scientific and strategic importance.
• Collaborate with the Transactional lead during negotiation of term sheets and definitive agreements.
• Serve as the internal lead in preparation and presentation of business cases and briefing materials for senior management and internal governance bodies, with cross-functional support.

Qualifications

• Required: PhD in the life sciences or related field (e.g., neuroscience drug discovery/development) or MD with clinical development experience.
• Required: Detailed understanding of the pharmaceutical drug discovery/development process, with 12+ years in pre-clinical development, clinical development, and/or search & evaluation experience.
• Required: Track record of experience in Neuroscience, Immunology and/or Rare Disease therapeutic areas; expertise in these areas and multiple modalities.
• Required: Ability to think critically, creatively and to anticipate and solve problems; ability to navigate a fast-paced, matrixed environment; excellent communication skills; broad knowledge of drug development and key disciplines (R&D); comprehensive experience of cross-functional project leadership.
• Required: Experience driving alignment with cross-functional stakeholders to bring sound evaluations and external opportunity recommendations forward to senior management; experience presenting proposals of notable risk and complexity to senior management.
• Required: Travel about 3 to 4 times per year with one trip being international.