Business Development - CDMO -API and Finished Formulation - Japan

Business Development Japan Market | CDMO (APIs & Finished Dosage Formulations)

Designation: Deputy Manager / Manager / Senior Manager Business Development, Japan
Location: Japan / India – Japan-focused role
Company: Morepen Laboratories Limited
Reporting to: Head – Business Development, CDMO
Experience: 8–12 years in pharmaceutical business development, preferably with CDMO/API/FDF exposure
Employment Type: Full-time

1. Position Overview

Morepen Laboratories is looking for a commercially driven and relationship-oriented Business Development professional to lead and expand the Company's CDMO business in the Japanese pharmaceutical market.

The candidate will be responsible for identifying and developing relationships with Japanese pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, specialty pharma companies, generic companies, virtual pharma organizations, and healthcare companies seeking API, intermediate, formulation development, contract manufacturing, technology transfer, and commercial supply partnerships.

The role will involve end-to-end management of business opportunities—from market mapping and customer identification to lead generation, RFP management, technical-commercial proposal development, negotiations, contract closure, and customer handover.

The candidate will work closely with Morepen's R&D, Analytical Development, Formulation Development, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to develop technically feasible, commercially competitive, and customer-focused proposals for the Japanese market.

Given the importance of relationship building in Japan, the candidate should demonstrate strong Japanese business etiquette, communication skills, cultural understanding, patience in developing long-term relationships, and the ability to work effectively with Japanese customers and internal stakeholders.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. Japan Market Business Development & Customer Acquisition

• Develop and execute a focused business development strategy for the Japanese pharmaceutical market.
• Identify and target Japanese pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, specialty pharma companies, generic pharmaceutical companies, virtual pharma organizations, and emerging life-science companies.
• Build a qualified pipeline of potential customers for:
• APIs
• Intermediates
• Custom synthesis
• API development
• Finished dosage formulation development
• Contract manufacturing
• Technology transfer
• Clinical supplies
• Commercial manufacturing
• Identify opportunities for long-term development and manufacturing partnerships with Japanese customers.
• Conduct targeted prospecting through industry databases, LinkedIn, Japanese pharmaceutical associations, conferences, exhibitions, partnering events, referrals, and existing industry networks.
• Develop and maintain a structured target-account list covering key Japanese pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
• Establish initial contact and progressively develop relationships with key decision-makers, technical teams, procurement teams, R&D teams, and business stakeholders.

B. Japanese Customer Relationship Management

• Develop strong and long-term relationships with Japanese customers and prospective customers.
• Understand the Japanese customer decision-making process, communication style, business expectations, and procurement practices.
• Arrange customer meetings, capability presentations, technical discussions, virtual meetings, and site visits.
• Coordinate customer visits to Morepen manufacturing and R&D facilities in India.
• Maintain regular follow-up with customers while respecting Japanese business protocols and relationship-building practices.
• Act as the primary commercial point of contact for assigned Japanese accounts.
• Identify opportunities for account expansion, repeat business, cross-selling, and long-term supply agreements.

C. RFP / RFQ / Inquiry Management

• Receive, evaluate, and coordinate customer inquiries, RFPs, RFQs, and development requirements.
• Understand customer requirements relating to API/FDF development, process development, analytical development, scale-up, clinical supplies, validation, technology transfer, and commercial manufacturing.
• Coordinate with internal technical and functional teams to assess feasibility.
• Prepare and coordinate technical-commercial proposals, presentations, quotations, and customer responses.
• Ensure timely responses to customer inquiries, targeting approximately 9–10 working days for standard inquiries, subject to technical complexity and availability of internal inputs.
• Coordinate clarification questions and proposal revisions with customers.
• Maintain complete documentation and tracking of all Japan-market opportunities.

D. Technical-Commercial Coordination

• Work closely with R&D, Analytical Development, Formulation Development, Manufacturing, QA, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, and Finance teams.
• Coordinate technical feasibility assessments for Japanese customer requirements.
• Support development of project timelines, resource requirements, manufacturing assumptions, batch sizes, yields, raw material requirements, and costing.
• Coordinate commercial proposals based on development effort, manufacturing requirements, capacity, raw materials, batch sizes, expected volumes, and target margins.
• Ensure customer proposals are commercially competitive while remaining technically and operationally feasible.
• Identify project risks, dependencies, and potential execution challenges before commercial commitment.

E. Business Negotiation & Contract Closure

• Lead commercial discussions with prospective customers in coordination with senior management and relevant internal functions.
• Support negotiations relating to pricing, development charges, minimum order quantities, timelines, payment terms, commercial volumes, and supply arrangements.
• Coordinate execution of:
• Non-Disclosure Agreements
• Development Agreements
• Quality Agreements
• Supply Agreements
• Manufacturing Agreements
• Technology Transfer arrangements
• Ensure smooth transition of won projects from Business Development to internal project teams.
• Maintain visibility of commercial commitments and customer expectations throughout the opportunity lifecycle.

F. Japan Market Intelligence

• Develop deep understanding of the Japanese pharmaceutical and CDMO market.
• Track Japanese pharmaceutical outsourcing trends, customer requirements, competitor capabilities, pricing trends, regulatory developments, and procurement practices.
• Identify pharmaceutical companies that are actively exploring India-based API/FDF sourcing or CDMO partnerships.
• Map competitors and identify Morepen's differentiation in terms of quality, regulatory capabilities, manufacturing capacity, technology, cost competitiveness, and customer responsiveness.
• Identify therapeutic areas and product segments with potential for Morepen's API and formulation capabilities.
• Prepare account-specific business plans for priority Japanese customers.

G. Conferences, Exhibitions & Networking

• Represent Morepen Laboratories at relevant Japan-based pharmaceutical conferences, exhibitions, partnering events, and industry forums.
• Develop relationships through events such as pharmaceutical exhibitions, CDMO partnering forums, and industry networking platforms.
• Schedule customer meetings before and during industry events and ensure structured post-event follow-up.
• Support preparation of Japan-specific marketing materials, presentations, capability documents, and customer communication.

H. CRM, Pipeline & Business Reporting

• Maintain accurate records of Japanese prospects, customer interactions, inquiries, RFPs, proposals, negotiations, and opportunities.
• Maintain a structured Japan CDMO Pipeline and RFP Register.
• Track:
• Number of qualified leads
• Customer meetings
• RFPs/RFQs received
• Proposals submitted
• Pipeline value
• Probability-weighted pipeline
• Negotiation status
• Conversion rates
• Orders/contracts won
• Provide weekly and monthly business development reports to management.
• Prepare periodic forecasts and market intelligence reports for the Japan market.
• Ensure disciplined follow-up throughout the complete sales cycle.

3. Educational Qualifications

• B.Pharm / M.Pharm / M.Sc. Chemistry / Chemical Engineering / Biotechnology or another relevant scientific discipline.
• MBA in Marketing, International Business, Pharmaceutical Management, or Business Management will be preferred.
• Japanese language qualification such as JLPT N2/N1 will be strongly preferred.

4. Experience & Competencies

• 8–12 years of relevant pharmaceutical industry experience, preferably in CDMO, CRAMS, API, intermediates, custom synthesis, or finished dosage formulations.
• Prior experience in business development or commercial roles involving Japanese pharmaceutical customers will be highly preferred.
• Proven experience in B2B pharmaceutical business development and customer acquisition.
• Good understanding of pharmaceutical R&D, process development, analytical development, GMP manufacturing, technology transfer, and commercial supply.
• Experience in handling RFPs/RFQs, proposals, costing coordination, commercial negotiations, and contract closure.
• Strong understanding of international pharmaceutical business practices.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder-management skills.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, communication, and follow-up capabilities.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both Japanese customers and India-based technical/functional teams.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint, CRM systems, and business reporting.
• Willingness to travel extensively within Japan and India for customer meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and business development activities.

5. Japanese Language & Cultural Competency

The candidate should ideally possess:

• JLPT N2/N1 or equivalent Japanese language proficiency.
• Ability to conduct business conversations and correspondence in Japanese.
• Understanding of Japanese business etiquette, communication protocols, and relationship-building practices.
• Ability to prepare or coordinate customer communication, presentations, and proposals in Japanese and English.
• Strong sensitivity towards Japanese customer expectations around quality, reliability, documentation, responsiveness, consistency, and long-term relationships.
• Ability to operate effectively in a multicultural business environment involving Japanese customers and India-based teams.

Candidates without Japanese language proficiency may also be considered if they have significant existing relationships with Japanese pharmaceutical companies and demonstrated experience in managing Japan-based accounts.

6. Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a pharmaceutical business development professional with strong exposure to the Japanese market and a proven ability to develop long-term B2B relationships.

The candidate should be:

• Commercially driven and target-oriented
• Strong in relationship management
• Comfortable interacting with senior Japanese stakeholders
• Technically conversant in API/FDF/CDMO operations
• Patient and persistent with long pharmaceutical sales cycles
• Strong in RFP and proposal management
• Detail-oriented and commercially disciplined
• Capable of independently developing and managing a Japan-focused pipeline
• Comfortable coordinating multiple internal technical and commercial teams
• Willing to travel frequently between India and Japan

The candidate should have the ability to translate customer requirements into commercially viable opportunities for Morepen and convert relationships into sustainable development, manufacturing, and long-term supply contracts.