Director, Business Development

Job Description

The Transactions group within the Business Development & Licensing organization supports commercial-stage and late-stage (Phase III through marketed) partnerships that advance our company’s Human Health portfolio. This China-based role is responsible for evaluating, structuring and executing late-stage and marketed transactions for the China subsidiary, including co-promotions, co-marketing, distribution and supply localization/manufacturing partnerships, and in-licensing and out-licensing of late-stage and marketed assets.

The Director, China Business Development Transactions (Late Stage/Commercial) will lead the evaluation, structuring, negotiation and execution of commercial collaborations and late-stage licensing transactions in the pharmaceutical arena for the China subsidiary. This role will drive cross-functional diligence, develop clear commercial value propositions and deal economics, and lead internal governance through to signature and execution. Success requires strong commercial judgment, deep understanding of the pharma sector in China and financial rigor—ability to assess deal financials and value drivers—paired with sufficient scientific and clinical fluency to engage credibly with internal experts and external partners. Fluency in both Mandarin and English is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead China subsidiary late-stage commercial BD opportunities from evaluation through execution, including co-promotion, co-marketing, distribution, supply localization/manufacturing partnerships, and in-licensing/out-licensing of late-stage and marketed assets
• Drive cross-functional diligence and business case development, synthesizing commercial (market, access, competitive landscape), medical/scientific, regulatory and supply inputs into a clear value proposition and go/no-go recommendations
• Lead internal deal governance and stakeholder alignment (e.g., decision memos, approvals, trade-off framing), bringing teams together to solve complex problems and enable timely signature and launch readiness
• Own the end-to-end transaction process and project management cadence (workplans, timelines, risks/issues), partnering closely with Legal, Finance and Alliance Management to ensure clear decision-making and effective handover to execution teams
• Develop and challenge deal financials, including revenue/COGS assumptions, profit-share and transfer pricing concepts (where applicable), scenario/sensitivity analyses, and valuation outputs to support negotiation strategy and approval materials
• This role may also support early stage licensing opportunities (pre-POC in humans) as part of ongoing professional development

The incumbent will interface with leaders and teams across China Commercial, Marketing, Market Access, Finance, Medical, Regulatory, Supply Chain/Manufacturing, Legal and Patents, and Alliance Management, and will coordinate as needed with Global Business Development & Licensing partners and governance. The role requires strong influence skills with external counterparties and the ability to lead internal deal teams through ambiguity to timely, high-quality decisions. The Director must demonstrate excellent judgment in structuring and negotiating agreements, escalating issues appropriately, and balancing risk, scientific uncertainty and strategic value. This will require strong commercial and deal financial acumen (e.g., scenario analysis, profit-share economics, valuation) and sufficient scientific and clinical fluency to pressure-test assumptions and align stakeholders on key value drivers and risks.

S/he will operate on a small but high intensity team with significant responsibility for helping our company achieve its ambitious BD goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA) preferred. Candidates must demonstrate sufficient scientific/clinical fluency to engage credibly with internal experts and external partners
• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience in pharmaceutical commercial business development and/or partnering, with demonstrated ownership of deal workstreams and experience executing commercial collaborations (e.g., co-promotion, co-marketing, distribution/supply localization) and/or in-licensing/out-licensing of late-stage or marketed assets
• Hands-on experience with commercial collaboration structures and terms (e.g., territory and channel rights, pricing/discounting interfaces, profit share or margin split, supply commitments, governance, performance obligations, launch/brand responsibilities), and familiarity with relevant market benchmarks
• Fluency in Mandarin and English (written and spoken), with ability to negotiate and influence effectively in both languages
• Scientific and clinical fluency relevant to late-stage and marketed products, including ability to interpret clinical data, understand label and regulatory considerations, and identify key medical and safety value drivers/risks that impact commercial potential
• Strong commercial and financial skills, including experience evaluating deal financials and building/challenging forecasts and business cases (e.g., revenue, COGS, SG&A impacts), scenario/sensitivity analysis, and applying valuation concepts to collaboration economics (e.g., profit share, margin split, milestones/royalties where applicable)
• Demonstrated leadership and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to frame complex issues, develop options and drive alignment across diverse stakeholders
• Proven ability to communicate clearly with executive leadership and to influence decisions through concise synthesis of science, strategy, risk and financial trade-offs
• Excellent deal execution skills for commercial collaborations and late-stage licensing, including ability to develop negotiation strategy, manage contracting/legal processes, and partner effectively with Legal, Finance, Commercial, Market Access and Supply Chain; strong working knowledge of common structures used in co-promote/co-market, supply and licensing agreements
• Excellent references to support (i) a track-record of solving problems within the context of completing deals and (ii) sustainable business practice where collaborators and partners would gladly work with the candidate again.

Required Skills:

Business Development, Contractual Drafting, Developing Proposals, Due Diligence, Executive Presence, Financial Modeling, Market Analysis, Operations Analysis, Private Equity, Self Motivation

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

07/31/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.