Chief Medical Officer

Career insight

A chief medical officer reports directly to the CEO and focuses on clinical development. The Chief Medical officer is usually responsible for 1 of 3 things.

Number 1 – Developing the clinical development strategy.

The most common responsibility for the CMO is developing the trial design and strategy for the lead compounds. Selecting the biomarkers to be used, deciding on the end-points, the type of trials to do this, if relevant which combination therapies to test. Arguably one of the most important parts of this job are the STOP-GO decisions. Not letting ego or pressure get in the way. Therefore having a strategic mindset is key. Being able to understand how to run trials, what the FDA looks for in decisions and the strategic clinical goals of the company are all key to being successful.

Number 2 – Programme Head

When a company grows, there are more and more parts to run. Manufacturing, Quality, Drug Safety – these will each have a head overlooking them however all will dotted (or direct) line report into the CMO. The CMO therefore needs to identify any bottle necks, problems and improvements. A good CMO at a mid-size company can pull people together, be analytical in leadership and decisions and be flexible to changing problems/needs.

Number 3 – Commercialisation

A chief medical officer at a larger biotech, usually ones with 1-2Phase III programmes, will be heavily involved with the Medical Affairs, Governance, Market Access and the 1^st steps for building a commercial part of a biotech. This is often the biggest challenge for some CMOs who are too academic in their background. A good CMO at the commercialisation stage will likely have worked in Medical Affairs and have excellent communication. Being able to mentor and coach all layers of staff is key as in depth medical knowledge about the product is needed at this stage (and who better to share this than the CEO?).  

Requirements for Chief Medical Officers:

• A Medical Degree and specialisation in that field of medicine.
• Previous demonstrated experience which is related to that biotech.
• Early clinical development, successful IND application, entry into clinics, submission and filings, demonstrate running clinical trials.
• Late clinical development, successful drug launches, building medical teams, FDA /EMA submissions, previous Medical Affairs work.
• Leadership; successfully proven managing a team including areas such as, Clinical Operations, Drug Safety, Medical Affairs and potentially more.
• Detailed knowledge about the disease area is a major advantage but not always necessary. Its unlikely someone with no Oncology experience will work as a CMO at an oncology biotech however.

Salary and benefits:

• $300,000 - $600,000
• Bonus: 25-35%
• Stocks: 25-40%
• Equity: 0.5 – 3%
• Typical extras: Paid travel or relocation

Further information:

Should you be interested in working as a Vice President in Clinical Development or need more advice on your career, then let us know. We are always searching for people with this background and are happy to discuss our clients and which companies are hiring (now or near future). All conversations are strictly confidential.