The Search and Evaluation (S&E) group is part of the Corporate Business & Strategy Office and actively supports global Business Development (BD) goals by sourcing and assessing external partnering opportunities that are aligned with AbbVie’s R&D and BD Strategies.  The S&E team interacts with biotech and biopharma companies, academic institutions, venture firms, and other stakeholders from the life sciences industry ecosystem, for exploration of potential opportunities to collaborate, in-license, out-license, invest into- or acquire assets. The group is responsible for leading the global search efforts for assets of high strategic value across the entire spectrum, from early-stage Discovery alliances to the evaluation of programs that are in late-stage development or marketed. S&E is responsible for conducting all scientific/technical due diligence to ensure an in-depth understanding of the science behind each of these opportunities. 

Neurosciences represents one of AbbVie’s strategic therapeutic area pillars and is a major revenue driver for the company.  The Senior Director, Head of Neurosciences Search & Evaluation will lead the Neurosciences S&E team that is responsible for coordinating due diligence and presenting assessments of individual partnering opportunities as well as related Neurosciences and BD strategy initiatives to therapeutic area leadership and senior governance committees.  This is a very attractive opportunity for an experienced biotech or pharmaceutical industry professional who enjoys a high-energy, entrepreneurial environment, and a highly visible role that offers a chance to make significant contributions towards AbbVie’s BD goals, and to further strengthen AbbVie’s role as a leading pharmaceutical drug developer of innovative medicines for neurodegenerative diseases, movement disorders, migraine, psychiatry, and other emerging areas within Neurosciences.

Key Responsibilities:

As the leader of the Neurosciences S&E team, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing direct reports across multiple sites, for fostering talent, and for driving the overall strategies and tactics for identifying, assessing, and partnering assets for continued growth of AbbVie’s Neurosciences business. While directly reporting to the Vice President, Search & Evaluation and Global Alliances, the Senior Director, Search & Evaluation Neurosciences will have strong working relationships with the Neurosciences therapeutic area leadership team, in particular the Vice Presidents of Neurosciences Discovery, Clinical Development, and Commercial, as well as Transactions Legal, Business Development & Acquisitions, and AbbVie Ventures. To effectively contribute to these activities, they will need to possess a deep scientific knowledge in the field of Neurosciences. Since the individual will independently lead scientific/technical assessments as well as lead and mentor direct reports, they will also require experience in effectively managing team members, subject matter experts and key stakeholders, experience in effectively and self-sufficiently prioritizing multiple opportunities, and coordinating the workflow of a team. This person will also work to ensure internal and external communication of the external Neurosciences sourcing strategy and will be expected to represent AbbVie as a spokesperson in external partnering and scientific conferences.  They will build and leverage a network of connections in the biopharma innovation ecosystem, to raise awareness for AbbVie’s partnering objectives and capabilities. The Senior Director, Search & Evaluation will work with key stakeholders and cross-functional teams to drive and ensure effective communication, efficient decision-making, and completion of transactions in a timely manner. They will be responsible for integrating input from various functional areas across the organization to create high quality, clear, and decision-enabling scientific assessments, due diligence reports and presentations with recommendations to TA leadership, senior governance committees, and AbbVie’s Executive Management team.