Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

CONFIDENTIAL RETAINED SEARCH | SAN DIEGO LIFE SCIENCES

Search Reference: TNF-LS-CMO-2026 | Clinical Leadership Mandate, Life Sciences

ABOUT THIS SEARCH

Top Notch Finders has been retained on an exclusive and strictly confidential basis to identify a Chief Medical Officer for a client in the San Diego / CaliBaja life sciences corridor. To protect the interests of our client and of every candidate who engages with us, the identity of the company is disclosed only to qualified candidates under a confidentiality agreement. All inquiries and applications are received and managed solely by Top Notch Finders.

POSITION SNAPSHOT

• Company profile: Clinical-stage biotech (oncology, rare disease, cell/gene therapy) or commercial-stage pharma.
• Reports to: CEO.
• Location: San Diego / CaliBaja region; specifics disclosed to qualified candidates.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Chief Medical Officer leads clinical strategy, medical affairs, and pharmacovigilance functions, serving as the senior physician voice guiding a program from IND through approval. The CMO is the primary clinical science interface with regulatory agencies, key opinion leaders, and the board.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and oversee the overall clinical development strategy across the pipeline.
• Serve as lead clinical spokesperson in FDA/EMA interactions and advisory committee meetings.
• Direct medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and drug safety functions.
• Partner with Regulatory Affairs on submission strategy and label negotiations.
• Provide clinical and scientific input into business development, licensing, and M&A diligence.
• Represent the company to physician networks, KOLs, and patient advocacy organizations.
• Mentor and build out the clinical development and medical affairs organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• MD (or MD/PhD) required; board certification in a relevant therapeutic specialty strongly preferred.
• 12+ years of clinical development leadership experience in biotech or pharma.
• Prior experience personally guiding a program through FDA/EMA approval is highly preferred.
• Deep therapeutic-area expertise; oncology, rare disease, cell/gene therapy, or immunology most in demand.
• Strong track record of KOL and investigator relationships.
• Experience presenting to boards and institutional investors.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND HOW TO APPLY

This is a discreet, retained engagement. Your candidacy will never be presented to any organization without your explicit prior authorization, and no application will be visible to the hiring company at this stage. Accomplished physician executives are invited to submit a resume in confidence through the Top Notch Finders website. Please reference search code TNF-LS-CMO-2026 in your submission. Do not include patient-identifiable, trial-blinded, or other confidential clinical information of any kind in your application materials. Only candidates whose backgrounds align closely with the mandate will be contacted.