Chief Executive Officer — Specialty-Medicines Portfolio

The mandate

A research-led pharmaceutical enterprise faces loss of exclusivity in a leading specialty medicine. Competitive entry, payer pressure and channel inventory may compress value before several pipeline assets reach decisive data. The board has created a CEO appointment to make portfolio choices and allocate capital across brands, evidence programmes and the pipeline.

Approximately 700 employees and material partners span development, medical, regulatory, market access, commercial, technical operations and enabling functions from Basel across international markets. The CEO owns portfolio, P&L, capital, leadership and external stakeholder outcomes, reporting to the Group board and Group Chief Executive. Patient safety, scientific integrity and regulatory obligations are non-negotiable constraints.

The first requirement is an honest exclusivity baseline by market. Patent, regulatory, litigation, tender, channel and prescribing dynamics differ. The CEO will establish downside and accelerated-entry scenarios, including inventory unwind and price response. Plans should state what management can control and avoid assuming competitor behaviour that merely supports the target.

The mature brand needs a deliberate strategy. Evidence generation, formulation, indication, device, access and service investments may protect patient value, but only where they address a real unmet need and are scientifically justified. Activity designed chiefly to obstruct legitimate competition will not be supported. Medical and legal review must remain independent.

Pipeline capital must be reprioritised. Assets differ in probability, time, differentiation, development cost and commercial fit. The CEO will require decision-quality evidence and name the data that would increase, reduce or stop investment. A project will not survive solely because sunk cost, internal sponsorship or public narrative makes termination uncomfortable.

External innovation may fill strategic gaps more effectively than internal acceleration. Licensing and acquisition theses should identify biological rationale, development capability, competitive space and integration burden. Deal urgency cannot weaken diligence on safety, data provenance, manufacturing or rights. Contingent structures should align payment with evidence.

Launch and lifecycle capabilities must be matched to the future portfolio. Maintaining every country and function at historic scale may destroy funding headroom; cutting too early may impair patient supply or future launches. The CEO will sequence workforce and partner decisions around actual milestones, with transparent consultation and critical-knowledge transfer.

Market access will prepare for changing evidence demands. Payers may seek comparative benefit, budget predictability or outcome arrangements. The enterprise should engage with credible evidence and avoid commitments it cannot measure. Pricing decisions must consider access, international reference effects, channel economics and long-term portfolio trust.

Supply continuity remains essential through decline. Forecast volatility, minimum batches and expiry can create shortage or write-off. The CEO will ensure demand scenarios, regulatory obligations and manufacturing strategy are connected. A product with falling revenue still deserves rigorous quality and reliable patient supply.

The portfolio's financial model will distinguish cash harvest from underinvestment. Savings that shift work into risk, delay regulatory commitments or weaken pharmacovigilance are unacceptable. Capital should move visibly towards the highest-conviction science and capabilities, with transition cost and option value recognised.

Leadership behaviour must change. Teams have been encouraged to defend individual assets and optimistic base cases. The CEO will reward early escalation, explicit probabilities and decisive stopping. Executive objectives will include enterprise portfolio value, not only functional milestone completion.

External communication requires precision. Investors, regulators, partners, employees and patient communities need a coherent account of exclusivity, evidence and continuity without disclosure that compromises legal or competitive position. The CEO will not fill uncertainty with false confidence. Scenario and action should be distinguished.

The board expects options but also a recommendation. Divestment, partnership, geographic withdrawal or greater investment may all be considered. The CEO must close debate by decision dates and accept accountability for a smaller, more credible portfolio if that is what evidence supports.

What you will own

• Specialty-medicines portfolio and P&L.
• Loss-of-exclusivity scenarios and response.
• Pipeline, lifecycle and external-innovation capital.
• Market access, evidence and country choices.
• Supply continuity through volume transition.
• Organisation, capability and workforce sequence.
• Board, investor, regulator and partner confidence.
• Executive leadership and succession.

The first 12 months

In the first 45 days, rebuild the exclusivity and cash baseline, identify unsupported pipeline assumptions and protect any supply or regulatory obligation at risk. Present explicit portfolio alternatives.

By month six, decide priority assets, stop lower-conviction spend and establish external-innovation and lifecycle plans. Align workforce, supply and market investment with the chosen portfolio.

At twelve months, preserve at least CHF 300 million of cumulative risk-adjusted value against the accelerated-entry case, reallocate 20% of development and commercial capital to higher-conviction assets and reduce base-cost exposure by 15% without a critical compliance or supply lapse. Every pipeline asset should meet a board-approved evidence gate.

What the board will examine

• Exclusivity scenarios reflecting real market mechanics.
• Lifecycle work grounded in patient and scientific value.
• Pipeline capital changing when evidence changes.
• Supply remaining reliable through decline.
• Workforce reductions sequenced around critical capability.
• Communication candid about uncertainty and action.

The person

You bring 28+ years in pharmaceuticals, including CEO, business-unit president or portfolio authority in specialty medicines. Your record includes loss of exclusivity, clinical-development choices, market access, supply and external innovation across international markets.

The board expects evidence of stopping a celebrated asset, protecting supply during commercial decline and communicating a material reset. Basel is the hybrid base, with significant global stakeholder travel and full board accountability.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is CHF 500,000–700,000 plus annual incentive and long-term participation tied to portfolio value, capital reallocation, supply, evidence quality and leadership. The permanent hybrid Basel appointment reports to the Group board and Group Chief Executive. The urgent unplanned timetable reflects active exclusivity decisions.

Confidentiality

The enterprise, medicines, patents, pipeline, trials, markets, partners and forecasts remain confidential. Detailed materials follow conflicts and signed confidentiality. Applicants must not contact companies, investigators or advisers to identify the client.