Two different jobs share this heading. In CDMOs and service businesses, commercial leaders win work on scientific credibility; in pharma, market access leaders win it on evidence and payer negotiations. Both are hard to brief well, which is why the brief is where we start.
EU joint clinical assessments cover new cancer medicines and advanced therapies, with orphan medicines following in 2028 and all new medicines in 2030. Pricing and reimbursement stay national.1
For hiring: Commercial and access leaders need to work with one EU evidence package and still negotiate price country by country.
The global CDMO market is forecast to grow from $173 billion in 2024 to $323 billion by 2033, and the share of pharma production that is outsourced rose from 34% in 2014 to 49% in 2023.2
For hiring: CDMOs compete for business development and marketing leaders who can sell complex capabilities.
CDMO leaders describe a move from transactional contracts to scientific partnership, with biotechs choosing partners on the strength of their technical teams.3
For hiring: CDMO commercial roles increasingly need scientific credibility, not only sales skill.
Global biotech financing reached $68.5 billion, up 11%, while IPOs fell by about half. In the Netherlands, funding went to fewer but larger rounds.45
For hiring: With fewer IPOs, growth runs through partnering and M&A, which raises the value of leaders with deal experience.
A request for a Sales Director can turn out to be a Chief Commercial Officer: someone who engages C-level customers and leads account management, business development and marketing together. A marketing brief open to every background can be sharpened to direct CDMO experience. Both happened in the stories below, and both changed who we went after.
The best commercial leaders in a niche are known to each other and to their competitors. They are reached through an established industry network, and they move for scope, influence and a proposition they can believe in.
Retained search, handled in confidence, with alignment across CEO, board and investors.
Mid to senior search for business development and marketing leadership.
An honest check of title, seniority and profile before the search starts.
CEO and investor described two different roles; search restarted once they agreed on one.
Read the full story →Requirement narrowed to direct CDMO experience; candidate from a competing CDMO identified; strong alignment on both sides.
Read the full story →Sales Director brief repositioned at CCO level; filled.
Read the full story →A thirty-minute call with Russell, no pitch deck. You'll leave with a view on whether it's a search, an interim, or neither.