Associate Director, Business Development & Acquisitions

About the role

Purpose

The Associate Director will support AbbVie's Licensing & Acquisitions strategy by identifying and evaluating external business opportunities from a technical, CMC, and operations perspective. This role will lead cross-functional teams through assessment and due diligence, working with the Search and Evaluation function, Legal, and partners across Clinical, Regulatory, Operations, Quality, and Commercial.

The individual will translate findings into clear recommendations and proposals for senior management, inform deal structure and risk mitigation, and help move agreed opportunities toward timely execution of legal agreements with external parties.

Responsibilities

• Advise on building asset-specific development plans aligned with clinical and commercial timelines.
• Identify technical gaps and risks in the available CMC data.
• Work with functional leaders in cross-functional teams to make decisions on business opportunities.
• Help lead assessment and due diligence (with the Search and Evaluation function): manage interactions with external parties, oversee the evaluation process and timeline, and prepare timely recommendations and proposals for senior management based on thorough technical and commercial assessments.
• Proactively research and evaluate licensing and acquisition targets that fit AbbVie strategy and support sustainable growth, assessing their scientific, commercial, and financial viability.
• Contribute to deal structure and risk mitigation in line with AbbVie objectives and functional management.
• Keep key internal stakeholders informed of negotiation status, and prepare opportunity assessments and executive summaries (with Legal and other relevant functions).
• Network with potential external parties to raise awareness of AbbVie's key capabilities and Licensing & Acquisition objectives.
• Advance projects efficiently and effectively, and recommend dropping weak ideas early.
• Present orally and in writing to senior management to seek approval for new opportunities.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of CMC experience across multiple functions, or a Master's with 8+ years, or a PhD with 6+ years, sufficient to manage global teams and all CMC activities, including science, technology, quality, regulatory/compliance, budget, and resources.
• Strong scientific writing and verbal communication skills.
• Working knowledge of regulatory requirements and familiarity with relevant research instrumentation and techniques.
• Understanding of pharmaceutical theory and the drug development process.
• Interdisciplinary CMC experience and expertise.
• Experience with biologics; manufacturing and/or development experience desired.
• Negotiation, influencing, and leadership skills. Entrepreneurial thinking and sound business judgment.
• Solid grasp of the drug development, regulatory, and commercialization process, with the scientific knowledge to objectively evaluate pharmaceutical business opportunities.
• Project management and leadership skills to guide multifunctional teams in evaluating opportunities and producing high-quality analyses, delivering on time and following through on commitments.
• Strong communication skills to convey business strategies and capabilities internally and externally, present recommendations clearly and concisely, and foster cross-functional dialogue.
• Strong networking skills to engage industry decision makers and stay current on emerging opportunities.
• Proven negotiation and influencing skills in deal settings, creatively resolving issues with partner companies to close win-win deals.
• Strong financial acumen and analytical skills to interpret financial evaluations and support fact-based decisions.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.