Business Development Manager - pharmaceutical licensing

Overview

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.

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Role Purpose

The Business Development in-Licensing Manager is a key member of the Business Development team, who will directly assist the Business Development Director in meeting the strategic, scientific, therapeutic, and commercial needs of MPP. The role contributes to shaping MPP business development strategy through the in-licensing of target pharmaceutical assets and associated development & manufacturing technologies.

Competitive Analysis and Opportunities Assessment

• Analyse the pharmaceutical R&D landscape, including development and manufacturing technologies related investment trends within MPP therapeutic in licensing target areas
• Generate market intelligence and scientific/commercial analysis on licensors, targets and disease areas
• Identify potential in-licensing opportunities assessing risks and benefits of new partnerships
• Maintain strong technical and market knowledge to enable meaningful discussions with prospective partners and to promote MPP as a Partner of Choice.
• Manage and maintain required databases (e.g., IMS, Evaluate Pharma, etc.) and tools to monitor activities and support stakeholder engagement.

Business Development and Deal Structuring

• Actively source, evaluate and transact prioritized in-licensing opportunities.
• Deliver robust business cases by analysing in-licensing opportunities, including the modelling of commercial forecasts, and public health impact, value propositions and integration of cross-functional inputs.
• Draft term sheets and participate in negotiations and execution of in-licensing agreements in collaboration with MPP Legal Department and wider team
• Contribute to licensing strategy development and translate the overall strategy into tactical plans to achieve business goals and objectives.
• Support early-stage compounds in licensing activities, including long-acting therapeutics.

Cross-functional Collaboration and Due Diligence

• Actively contribute to the evaluation of therapeutic drug programmes from preclinical through clinical stages covering proposed clinical benefit, preclinical data, development and manufacturing processes, regulatory strategy, intellectual property, and commercial potential.
• Participate in due diligence of out-licensing and partnering activities.
• Collaborate across departments to ensure business development input is provided and aligned with MPP mission
• Coach and mentor other business development professionals, and help foster alliance management skills and knowledge development, formally and/or informally, to support and advance MPP’s reputation as a Partner of Choice.
• Provide the MPP Governance Board and senior management with regular updates on BD in-licensing activities and progress.

External Engagement and Representation

• Represent MPP in public forums (e.g., conferences, partner meetings, speaking engagements) articulating MPP in licensing mission and serving as an effective ambassador for MPP.
• Build and maintain innovative communication tools and approaches to support interactions with stakeholders (e.g., databases, slide decks, FAQ guides).
• Generate and maintain database(s) to monitor progress of interactions with stakeholders.

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• University degree in life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical management, or related field.
• Minimum 8 years of industry work experience, ideally gained within pharmaceutical companies or biotechnology firms.
• Demonstrated experience in business development, with a focus on licensing, deal structuring, and negotiation of complex agreements.
• Deep expertise in the pharmaceutical industry, covering all stages of drug development (preclinical to commercial) and manufacturing processes.
• Proven ability to conduct commercial and scientific due diligence, including financial modeling, risk assessment, and valuation of pharmaceutical assets.
• Advanced knowledge of intellectual property.