Director / Associate Director, New Product Planning - Early Pipeline

Reference: 628439Posted: 2026-07-21Location: South San Francisco, CaliforniaCompany: Planet Pharma GroupContact: ApplicationsEmail: View email address on click.appcast.io SummaryThe Director / Associate Director, New Product Planning – Early Pipeline is a key member of The Commercial team, focused on driving early pipeline commercial strategy. We are seeking an experienced, strategic, and cross-functionally oriented leader to drive commercial insights and strategies for our early- to mid-stage pipeline assets.This individual will lead commercial assessments of new discovery-stage to mid-stage targets in collaboration with our biology and discovery research teams. By providing strategic commercial input to target identification and validation efforts, the Director ensures that scientific innovation is aligned with unmet patient needs and market potential.They will drive a cross-functional new target nomination process for pipeline expansion, working closely with research, clinical development, regulatory, and business development colleagues to ensure each potential target is evaluated from strategic, scientific, and commercial perspectives. This role offers high visibility and impact, regularly engaging with senior leadership to inform portfolio decisions.Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesLead Commercial Evaluations of Early Targets: Conduct market opportunity assessments, including epidemiology modeling, forecasting, scenario planning and primary/secondary market research to assess the commercial attractiveness of new preclinical and early stage opportunities – including market sizing, potential target product profile definition, and competitive landscape assessment. Translate data into clear business cases for each new target. Undertake financial modeling to determine the risk-adjusted NPV for early pipeline assets. New Target Nomination Process, Combinations Products and Portfolio Prioritization: Be the commercial lead for new target nomination process, partnering with research and early development teams to ensure thorough evaluation of strategic, scientific, and commercial considerations for each new target nomination or combination product nomination. Help identify the highest value combination products to be pursued in the metabolic space using both internal and external assets. Champion high-potential targets through governance review and pipeline entry. Be a leader in driving portfolio prioritization decisions. Business Development Support: Partner with Business Development on the assessment of external opportunities. Provide commercial evaluations and input on potential in-licensing, out-licensing, or partnership opportunities to ensure alignment with Structure’s portfolio strategy.Target Product Profile (TPP) Development: Collaborate closely with research, clinical, and medical teams to collaboratively create robust Target Product Profiles for early pipeline programs, aligning desired product attributes with critical success factors for commercial viability and the underlying opportunity assessment. Use TPPs to guide preclinical and clinical plans that meet patient and market needs.Competitive Intelligence & Market Insights: Collaborate closely with the competitive intelligence team to monitor the competitive landscape and emerging scientific trends in metabolic and related therapeutic areas that impact early-stage programs. Anticipate market shifts and identify key unmet needs to inform discovery strategy. Proactively translate market insights into actionable plans for product development.Cross-Functional Team Leadership: Serve as the commercial representative on early-stage project teams (e.g. discovery project teams and early development teams), translating complex scientific data into strategic insights and ensuring commercial considerations are factored into R&D decisions. Facilitate cross-functional communication and represent the “voice of the market” in internal discussions.Forecasting and Portfolio Planning: Contribute to long-range planning by developing initial revenue forecasts and strategic business cases for pipeline assets. Work with Finance teams to refine assumptions for early programs, supporting portfolio valuation and resource allocation decisions.Market research: Lead market research at Structure therapeutics, focusing on early stage-assets. Determine the right-sized research approach and methodology required to make key decisions. As appropriate, support market research efforts for later-stage assets (e.g. aleniglipron)Education and Experience RequirementsAdvanced Degree: Strong scientific background with a Ph.D. in Life Sciences or a related discipline (or equivalent experience) highly preferred. A relevant advanced degree (e.g. Ph.D, PharmD, MD, or MBA with a life sciences focus) is required.Industry Experience and Business Acumen: Significant experience in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry aligning with Director level. New Product Planning/Early Pipeline Strategy expertise is essential – typically demonstrated by 10-12+ years for Director level in commercial strategy, new product planning, strategic marketing or top-tier life-science management consulting. Strong business acumen and experience conducting market assessments, forecasting, or opportunity valuation. Experience collaborating across research, clinical, regulatory, and other functions to drive pipeline decisions is required. Experience working for / with clinical-stage biotech company(s) highly preferred. Product launch experience highly preferred.Market Research and Analytical Skills: Excellent analytical and market research skills, including familiarity with methodologies for assessing markets and unmet needs, competitive analysis, and forecasting models. Demonstrated ability to develop patient-based forecasts and conduct product valuations.Scientific Acumen: Proven ability to engage deeply with R&D teams and understand complex scientific data, then distill and translate those insights into clear commercial implications and strategic recommendations. Able to credibly interface with scientists, clinicians, and key opinion leaders, bridging science and business. Leadership & Communication: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and lead in a cross-functional setting. Comfortable presenting to senior leadership and contributing to high-level strategic discussions. Experience presenting recommendations to senior leadership and governance committees on development-stage investment decisions. Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, drive alignment, and synthesize complex information into clear strategic recommendations.Therapeutic Area Knowledge: Background in metabolic diseases and/or obesity therapeutic area experience is preferred but not requiredCross-Cultural/Language Skills: Chinese language proficiency or prior experience working with Chinese research colleagues is a plus, as our research team is largely based in Shanghai.