Business Development External Innovations

About this role

Responsibilities

• We are seeking a strategic and commercially driven Business Development leader to drive external innovation initiatives and support long-term growth within our organization. This role will focus on identifying, evaluating, and executing strategic partnerships, licensing opportunities, collaborations, and other inorganic growth initiatives across the biotech and life sciences landscape. The ideal candidate brings a strong scientific foundation, business acumen, and the ability to build meaningful relationships both internally and externally to advance innovation and business objectives.
• Develop and execute external innovation and business development strategies aligned with the company’s long-term growth objectives and overall business strategy.
• Identify, evaluate, and lead inorganic growth opportunities, including acquisitions, strategic partnerships, collaborations, co-development agreements, licensing opportunities, distribution agreements, and joint ventures.
• Partner closely with internal stakeholders across strategy, innovation, marketing, R&D, legal, and finance to align business development activities with organizational priorities.
• Support the creation and ongoing refinement of strategic roadmaps for key growth areas through market analysis, competitive intelligence, and opportunity assessment.
• Support and lead negotiations related to partnerships, licensing agreements, collaborations, and other strategic transactions.
• Develop business cases and financial models to assess commercial opportunities and support executive decision-making.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key external stakeholders, including biotech and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, investors, and industry leaders.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences, networking events, and external meetings to strengthen market presence and identify new opportunities.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the competitive landscape, emerging technologies, and market dynamics within the biotech and life sciences industries.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration to ensure successful execution and integration of strategic partnerships and innovation initiatives.
• Travel up to 30%, including domestic and international travel, as needed to support business objectives and partner engagement.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in business development, corporate development, strategic partnerships, or M&A within the biotech, pharmaceutical, or life sciences industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading or supporting strategic partnerships, licensing agreements, collaborations, joint ventures, or acquisitions.
• Strong experience with contract negotiations, deal structuring, and cross-functional stakeholder management.
• Proven ability to conduct or support commercial, financial, legal, and scientific due diligence activities.
• Experience developing and executing business development strategies aligned with organizational growth objectives.
• Strong understanding of the biotech/life sciences market landscape, including emerging technologies, competitive trends, and innovation pipelines.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with industry leaders, academic institutions, venture capital/investment groups, and external partners.
• Experience working cross-functionally with R&D, marketing, strategy, legal, finance, and executive leadership teams.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, including experience with market analysis, competitive intelligence, and financial modeling.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills with the ability to engage effectively at all organizational levels.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects and priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Self-motivated and highly collaborative, with the ability to work independently in a remote environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 30%, including international travel.
• Advanced degree preferred, ideally a PhD in a relevant scientific discipline; MBA or other advanced business training is a plus.

About Lonza Group

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of. Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board. Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now.