BJC bioCapital Connections
periodic musings about the biopharma industry
BJC bioCapital Connections
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The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is a core member of any biopharmaceutical company’s leadership team. This executive is responsible for the design and execution of a clinical development strategy that is central to the company’s success. As such, significant time and resources are committed to hiring a CMO whose specific expertise will facilitate achievement of program objectives. While a background in a specific disease state is often believed to be the prioritized prerequisite, other considerations may be of equal, or possibly greater, importance especially to earlier-stage companies. These include:
Despite the multiple benefits of involving a CMO early in a drug candidate’s development, companies frequently do not hire a CMO prior to filing an IND. Often it is because of the expense or the less than a full-time need. Instead, these companies often rely on KOL or SAB members as a substitute, advisors that may lack the relevant clinical experience or may not have sufficient time for thoughtful engagement. Prior to committing to a full-time hire, an appropriate functional bridge may be the fractional CMO. Accessing a senior-level CMO talent on a fractional level provides the company the multitude of benefits a CMO can offer it without many of the financial encumbrances of a permanent employee. Moreover, while indication-specific knowledge may be desired, the broad functional capabilities of an experienced CMO often outweigh an understanding of a particular disease state. The backgrounds of seasoned CMO talents include experiences across many disease states, indicative of their ability to acquire requisite indication insights rapidly. Far too frequently do we see early-stage companies select a preclinical pathway for the wrong drug candidate targeting the wrong indication, inevitably leading to increased costs and delayed program advances, much of which can be avoided with input from an experienced Chief Medical Officer (CMO) executive. To that end I wanted to reach out to highlight our creation of the BJC Capital Advisors’ CMO executive network and underscore the benefit, especially for companies in preclinical development, of accessing an experienced CMO talent to align preclinical programs with your anticipated clinical development strategy.
We have assembled our CMO network with experienced industry executives whose background typically combines exposures to both large pharmaceutical and smaller biotechnology companies. This diverse range of experiences provides our CMOs with an understanding of big company culture and expectations as well as an appreciation of the constraints small companies often face. We find this blend of insights maximizes the value our CMOs bring to client engagements. Executive talent can be accessed on either a fractional or interim basis, for as little as a few hours a month, with engagements structured to best accommodate company budgets. Accessing a CMO in this manner provides a functional solution for companies where the significant expense of a full-time hire is not justified. I imagine many of these perspectives may resonate with you. If so, we encourage you to please reach out to learn more about our CMO executive network and how our senior-level talent can benefit your development initiatives. |
About the AuthorBen Conway is a long-tenured investment banker with a primary focus on the biopharmaceutical sector. In addition to investment banking, his experience includes positions in large pharma as well as with smaller emerging biotech platforms. Archives
February 2024
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