Job Summary:

ThinkCyte is looking for a highly motivated and innovative VP of Business Development to identify partnering opportunities and negotiate agreements with leading biopharma companies and research institutes. 

We are transforming the fields of cell production and research in cell therapy and high-content phenotypic assays in drug discovery using our novel proprietary machine Vision-based Cell Sorting (ViCS) technology, published in Science (Ota et al., Ghost Cytometry, Science. 2018.) Integrating a novel imaging technique with machine learning, ViCS allows cell sorting based on the images including the morphology of the cells at high throughput and is regarded as a disruptive technology from leading scientists in the world. The motion of cells relative to a static patterned optical structure provides spatial information that is compressed into temporal waveforms, which are sequentially measured by a single-pixel detector. Using machine learning, cells are classified directly from the compressed signals, without reconstructing an image. 

As VP of Business Development, the prospective incumbent will be responsible for establishing, developing, and closing business deals while directly reporting to the Chief Business Officer. The role will direct outreach initiatives to potential partners, evaluate opportunities, and negotiate the financial, intellectual property as well as other contract terms. Long term objectives include fostering and maintaining strong relationships with partners, potential partners and key opinion leaders in the industry and academia. This opportunity will be multifacted and high impact in function as described below:

Responsibilities
  • Proactively identify and lead strategic partnership or collaborative research/out licensing opportunities with biotech and pharmaceutical companies
  • Expand business with biotech and large pharma clientele by adopting a consultative sales approach that focuses on research solutions and partnership with customers
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders
  • Responsible for driving the company’s strategic BD & growth plans
  • Keep abreast of research and development in this field
  • Keep abreast and up to date with prospective partnering opportunities
  • Lead structuring negotiation and execution of deals and transactions
  • Understand and present the company’s corporate messaging, platform, R&D programs, targets, technological approach, and vision
  • Acts as a primary point-of-contact for potential customers
  • Builds and sustains a pipeline of new business opportunities, managing pipeline through close in CRM via SalesForce
  • Manage the entire sales process – lead through opportunity to proposal to selection and contracting
  • Consistent quarterly execution; meeting and exceeding sales quotas
  • Maintaining high visibility of business plans, actions, and progress to ThinkCyte's executive and scientific teams in the Bay Area and Japan


    Skills & Qualifications:

    • 10+ years of experience working within the pharmaceutical/biotech business development
    • Strong scientific background, preferably PhD in biology, bioengineering, immunology or related fields
    • 7+ years in a leadership role in sales and/or business development
    • 3+ years of experience in client-facing roles of increasing responsibility, delivering products, services or analyses to life science companies
    • Extensive experience in negotiations, valuation, corporate finance and deal structuring
    • In and out licensing experience
    • Ability to engage directly with biopharma partners to help advance their research and business-related strategies using RWD/RWE
    • Detail oriented with a strong desire to develop content expertise
    • Extensive understanding of the biotech and biopharma drug discovery, development and commercialization
    • Diverse and solid business development network
    • Able to travel internationally (2-3 times a year)
    • Participated in innovative projects in the life sciences industry that involve solutions development, managing project timelines, data analyses, supporting client communication and cross-functional team collaboration
    • The ideal candidate will have keen understanding of the drug discovery research process, with ability to use knowledge to identify client needs, problem solve by working with our scientists to develop solutions that leverage unique technological assets. Demonstrated success in a similar role in the past, ideally exceeding sales targets, as well as a history of prospecting, building and growing existing account/partner relationships and an ability to establish a presence at new accounts. Desire to be part of a mission-driven business whose goal is to advance cell therapy and regenerative medicine capabilities