Senior Director - Lilly Ventures

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

To sustain our pipeline, Lilly is expanding efforts to access a constant stream of external innovation, which will fuel its premier discovery and development engines.

Lilly Ventures (LV) is a pan-therapeutic, global organization. Our goal is to provide scientific expertise, identify breakthrough innovation, and deliver groundbreaking technologies, platforms, and assets into Lilly Research Labs (LRL). The LV team sits at the intersection of Lilly’s industry-leading venture capital strategy and the highly innovative global healthcare and life science ecosystems.

We are seeking a LV Senior Director who will focus on helping us deliver and progress the best external cutting-edge science residing in external biotech companies into the Lilly portfolio.

• Your role will report to the of Head of East Coast Ventures and will be a key member of the geographic team defining strategy and tactics in the region. You will also be part of our larger global team, working closely with peers in Indianapolis, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Europe, and APAC region.

• Opportunities are sourced from our strategic venture fund partners and other key institutions in our prioritized geographies. You will lead/co-lead fund interactions and work closely with the other fund and geography leads and our management to find, monitor, and progress the best opportunities.

• Key aspects of your role will require attendance at scientific meetings with the venture funds we work with (>20 funds / month globally, and a >$2B Lilly commitment), ensuring that key matters are discussed, and company / portfolio updates are accurately recorded across several 100 companies and acted upon.

• Your role will involve the identification and delivery of direct financial investments in high-profile biotech companies (>40 to date, growing at >10 per year) as well as interacting regularly with our existing portfolio to ensure Lilly has the optimum line of site with the aim of converting these relationships into portfolio facing deals.

• A strong relationship with the other Search and Evaluation colleagues responsible for individual therapeutic and functional areas (TA / FAs), other Corp BD colleagues in transactions.

• There will be the potential to lead or participate in downstream partnering projects aiming to deliver Lilly pipeline value via acquisition or licensing deals.

• Beyond our venture portfolio of opportunities, the role will support our expanded pillars of external innovation partnering models including (a) ExplorR&D (providing Lilly capabilities externally, including clinical development) and (b) Lilly Gateway Labs (sourcing companies to enter our physical innovation spaces).

• Importantly, will have / build a strong demonstrable knowledge of Lilly's systems and highly professional ways of working, coupled with a good understanding of the drug discovery and development process / high learning agility.

The ideal candidate will be able to display applied scientific expertise and have a keen interest in assimilating complex data.  Will have demonstrated the ability to advance projects and initiatives. Should possess outstanding EQ, problem-solving, analytical, project management, communication, and leadership skills. Must be highly organized and able to multitask effectively with concurrent processing and implementation of many active discussions at various stages of evaluation and business discussions. Maintenance of highly accurate records of activity through use of in-house information and compliance systems is a necessity.

The responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to: 

• Technical evaluation of new partnership opportunities via objective scientific assessment including analysis of patents, scientific literature, and probing discussions with internal Lilly scientists; identification of key issues and appropriate expertise to facilitate resolution.

• Coordinating and triaging an extensive number of external project opportunities, including leading and participating in prioritization meetings.

• Deal team / Due Diligence / pre-due diligence participant, can have responsibility for preparation and presentation of governance documents and investment committee recommendations.

• Lead interactions with external organizations; represent Lilly strategies and needs to external organizations (companies, investment groups, and academic institutions) and provide agreed timely feedback.

• Mapping of the external competitive landscape and cultivating platforms for growth in new-to-Lilly indications or progressive technologies that could change treatment paradigms.

• Liaise with internal functions (legal, etc.) to ensure strict policy compliance and smooth execution of confidentiality processes.

• Contribute to the reporting of the overall Ventures portfolio to senior management.

• Provide clear reports and information, updated on a regular basis, to monitor activity and progress against objectives.

• Facilitate the development and maintenance of strong external networks to enhance Lilly’s potential for productive business relationships with external companies.

• Maintain formal contact channels with key venture funds and biotech companies (such as meetings and conference calls) to discuss potential new opportunities. Work with the Ventures geography, fund, and project leads and update them as opportunities advance through the different stages of the Lilly evaluation process.

• Support Lilly’s visibility at conferences and partnering meetings, including prior analysis of opportunities, planning of logistics, and follow-up communications. Some attendance at events will be expected.

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD in a discipline related to pharmaceutical drug discovery and development, e.g., Biochemistry, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology or Genetics.

• Prior experience in drug discovery or development. Minimum of 5 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry or related fields (life sciences VC, life science technology transfer, consulting) with additional experience working with small life science companies, venture capital firms or in the external innovation deal making space optimal.

Additional Skills/Preferences

• Strong scientific background as evidenced by publications, patents, presentations, project work 

• Demonstrated knowledge across several disease areas relevant to Lilly’s business and an understanding of key pathways that impact critical disease states as well as a working knowledge across multiple modalities and emerging technologies.

• ·Evidence of the strong interpersonal skills required to generate and maintain internal and external networks both face to face and remotely

• Strong project management, data science/analytics and organizational skills, demonstrated ability to accurately handle large amounts of complex unstructured data

• Flexible can-do attitude to respond quickly to fast-moving initiatives and priorities and work effectively in a complex matrix environment

• Possesses the maturity and judgment to work on sensitive and often highly confidential projects in full adherence to Lilly policies

• Demonstrated knowledge of the biotech and academic ecosystem with a strong preference for direct experience in Boston/New York

• Excellent English communication skills (written and oral)

• Strong database/computer skills. Interest in analytics is desirable

• Travel up to 40%

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$188,250 - $276,100

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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