Director, Search & Evaluation - Oncology

Role Summary

The Director, Search & Evaluation will be a key member of the Oncology S&E team, responsible for coordinating due diligence and presenting assessments of individual partnering opportunities to therapeutic area leadership and senior governance committees as well as contributing to Oncology and BD strategy initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Proactively search for, identify, and evaluate potential opportunities (research collaboration, in-licensing preclinical and clinical assets, platform technologies and research tools) that are consistent with external BD strategies for the advancement of AbbVie's Oncology pipeline, and driving sustainable growth for the Company. Review external opportunities for scientific merit and feasibility.
• Lead the assessment of opportunities (in conjunction with the R&D Therapeutic Area Steering Committee, functional area subject matter experts, Business Development and Acquisitions (BD&A) function and commercial organization), including: (1) managing the interactions with external parties; (2) overseeing the evaluation process and timeline; (3) developing timely recommendations and proposals for senior management, and; (4) supporting the commercial organization in commercial assessments of opportunities.
• Lead the due diligence efforts (in conjunction with the TA Leadership and Functional area SMEs) for advanced opportunities, prepare initial technical documents and present those to the senior management.
• In partnership with the transaction teams (Technology, Licensing and Collaborations/BD&A/ AbbVie Ventures) develop appropriate deal structures, risk mitigation and negotiating strategies and ensure alignment with AbbVie’s TA objectives and functional management.
• Communicate status of ongoing deals to key internal stakeholders on a timely basis, including preparation of opportunity assessments and summaries for executive-level audiences. Deliver oral and written presentations to senior management to seek approval for new opportunities.
• Build the AbbVie brand via participation and presenting AbbVie’s Vision & Mission at key scientific and industry forums. Network with external parties to ensure awareness of AbbVie key capabilities and BD objectives.
• Facilitate and maintain opportunity identification and assessment processes to move projects forward in the most efficient and effective manner and provide recommendations for declining/deprioritizing ideas early and effectively.
• Facilitate creation of institutional memory for opportunities by providing clear, concise assessments and recommendations for future reference. Fully leverage new and existing external and internal opportunity management tools to support the operations of the growing S&E group as it relates to tracking incoming opportunities.
• Lead/contribute to efforts for creating evergreen external BD strategies aligned to AbbVie’s Oncology TA strategy and portfolio goals.
• Lead/contribute to efforts for business process improvement initiatives through R&D organization and BD teams in line with the current industry standards.

Qualifications

• PhD, MD, MD/PhD in a Life Sciences Field, preferably Oncology-related.
• 12+ years of relevant industry experience required, with 2-3 years in S&E, BD, venture capital, technology transfer, or other partnering-focused professional experience.
• Practical experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry in at least one major area of drug development, such as Discovery, Preclinical Development, Clinical Development, or Regulatory Affairs. Must possess solid foundation of generally accepted BD practices, including term sheet and deal structures customary in the industry, valuation methods, forecasting, negotiation, and project management for BD.
• Demonstrated project management/leadership skills to lead/manage cross-functional teams in evaluating target opportunities partnering opportunities and producing high quality assessments of scientific and therapeutic hypotheses, as well as preclinical and clinical data.
• Ability to drive projects to deliver timely results and follow through on internal and external commitments.
• Strong communication skills to effectively communicate business strategies and capabilities internally and externally, present individual and team recommendations clearly and concisely, and foster cross-functional consensus-building.
• Strong people leadership and interpersonal skills and demonstrated negotiation and influencing skills with diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong existing network and networking skills to reach out to a broad range of industry decision makers to keep abreast of emerging opportunities.
• Strong business acumen and ability to drive well-informed, fact-based decision making.