Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Location: Global / Remote
Mobility: Willingness to travel internationally and relocate globally when required
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Level: Executive Leadership Team
About the Company
Our client is a fast-growing, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in China, focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for patients with significant unmet medical needs.
The company has established capabilities across research, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization, with a growing portfolio of marketed products and a differentiated pipeline of innovative biologics. Its R&D capabilities span multiple advanced modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific and multispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and other next-generation biologics.
With an expanding presence across China and international markets, the company is entering an important stage of transformation—from a China-focused biopharmaceutical business into a globally oriented innovative biopharma organization.
The company is investing significantly in international clinical development, global medical capabilities, scientific partnerships and pipeline expansion, and is now strengthening its global leadership team.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a senior medical leader to join the company at a pivotal stage of its international growth and play a central role in shaping its global medical and clinical development strategy.
Further information regarding the company, pipeline and strategic direction will be shared with shortlisted candidates during the interview process.
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced and internationally minded Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to lead the company's global medical and clinical development strategy.
Reporting directly to the CEO, the CMO will be a key member of the executive leadership team, with overall responsibility for medical strategy, clinical development, clinical medical affairs, KOL strategy and medical leadership across the company's innovative pipeline.
The CMO will work closely with R&D, Regulatory, Clinical Operations, Commercial, Business Development and international teams to translate scientific innovation into differentiated clinical development strategies and maximize the value of the company's pipeline globally.
The ideal candidate will bring substantial international drug development experience together with a strong understanding of the China pharmaceutical and biotechnology ecosystem, including China's clinical development environment, regulatory landscape, medical community and evolving biopharma market.
This is a global leadership position. The successful candidate may be based remotely in China, the US, Europe or another major pharmaceutical hub, but should be comfortable with regular international travel and global mobility, including relocation to China or other strategic locations when required.
Key Responsibilities
- Medical & Clinical Development Strategy
- Develop and lead the company's global medical and clinical development strategy in alignment with the overall corporate and portfolio strategy.
- Define clinical development strategies for key assets, including indication selection, patient populations, clinical positioning, development pathways and key clinical milestones.
- Provide medical and clinical perspectives on pipeline prioritization, asset evaluation and major R&D investment decisions.
- Continuously assess emerging science, treatment paradigms, competitive landscapes and unmet medical needs to optimize development strategies.
- Ensure strong alignment between scientific innovation, clinical development strategy and long-term product value.
- Global Clinical Development
- Provide overall medical leadership across Phase I–III clinical development programs.
- Guide clinical trial strategy, protocol design, endpoint selection, patient segmentation and clinical risk management.
- Work closely with Clinical Operations, Biostatistics, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory and CMC teams to ensure high-quality and efficient clinical development.
- Lead the evolution of the company's clinical development capabilities toward global standards.
- Support the design and execution of global multi-regional and multi-center clinical trials.
- Ensure appropriate integration of China clinical development capabilities into global development programs.
- Clinical Medical Affairs & KOL Strategy
- Develop and lead the company's global Clinical Medical Affairs and KOL strategy, ensuring close integration between clinical development, medical strategy and product strategy.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with leading global and China-based KOLs, clinical experts and principal investigators.
- Develop scientific engagement strategies across key therapeutic areas and different stages of clinical development.
- Engage closely with clinical investigators and external experts to generate insights into unmet medical needs, treatment paradigms, clinical endpoints and competitive developments.
- Translate external medical and clinical insights into actionable recommendations for pipeline strategy and clinical development.
- Lead investigator engagement, scientific exchange, medical education, publications, real-world evidence and other medical initiatives.
- Build a differentiated network of leading clinical and medical experts across China and international markets.
- Strengthen the company's medical and scientific profile within its key therapeutic areas.
- Regulatory & External Scientific Engagement
- Provide medical leadership in interactions with NMPA and other global regulatory authorities.
- Support regulatory strategy and key agency interactions with FDA, EMA and other relevant international authorities.
- Provide medical input into regulatory strategy, clinical development plans and major regulatory submissions.
- Develop relationships with leading academic institutions, clinical research centers and scientific organizations globally.
- Represent the company externally as a senior medical and scientific leader.
- Portfolio, Business & Corporate Strategy
- Serve as a key medical advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team.
- Participate in corporate strategy, portfolio reviews and major investment decisions.
- Provide medical and clinical assessment of external assets, licensing opportunities, partnerships and co-development opportunities.
- Support Business Development activities by assessing clinical differentiation, development feasibility, medical value and commercial potential of potential assets.
- Partner with Commercial and Market Access teams to support product positioning and lifecycle management.
- Provide strategic input on which assets should be prioritized for global development and the optimal clinical pathway for international markets.
- Global Organization & Leadership
- Build and lead a high-performing global Medical and Clinical Development organization.
- Establish appropriate organizational structures, governance processes and decision-making frameworks.
- Attract, develop and retain high-caliber international medical and clinical talent.
- Foster effective collaboration between teams in China and international markets.
- Establish a globally integrated operating model while leveraging China's clinical, scientific and commercial capabilities.
- Develop a strong culture of scientific excellence, accountability, collaboration and patient focus.
Candidate Profile
- MD, PhD or equivalent medical/scientific qualification strongly preferred.
- 15+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with significant leadership experience in Medical Affairs, Clinical Development or related functions.
- Proven experience leading innovative drug development programs from early clinical development through late-stage development, registration and/or commercialization.
- Strong clinical development strategy capabilities, beyond pure clinical operations.
- Experience across global or multi-regional clinical development programs.
- Strong understanding of both international and China drug development environments.
- Familiarity with NMPA and China's clinical development ecosystem; experience working with FDA and/or EMA strongly preferred.
- Therapeutic experience in immunology, autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and/or oncology preferred.
- Experience with biologics and innovative modalities such as monoclonal antibodies, bispecifics, multispecific antibodies, T-cell engagers and/or ADCs is highly desirable.
- Strong global KOL and investigator network.
- Demonstrated experience working across China and international markets.
- Previous experience in a multinational pharmaceutical company, leading biotech or successful innovative drug company preferred.
Leadership Profile
The ideal candidate will be more than a traditional clinical development leader. We are looking for a strategic global medical executive who can connect:
Science → Clinical Development → Clinical Medical Affairs → KOLs → Regulatory → Business Value
Geographic & Mobility Requirements
This is a global / remote-based executive position.
The successful candidate may be located in China, the US, Europe or another major pharmaceutical market.
However, the candidate should:
- Have meaningful experience and familiarity with the China pharmaceutical and biotechnology market;
- Understand China's clinical development environment, medical ecosystem and regulatory landscape;
- Be comfortable working across China and international markets;
- Be willing to travel regularly to China and other key markets;
- Be open to global mobility and relocation should the company's strategic development require it;
- Be capable of leading a geographically distributed organization across multiple time zones and cultures.
