Business Development Manager, Sterile Fill-Finish CDMO

Location: Switzerland or Southern Germany, ideally within reach of the Swiss border
Working arrangement: Flexible and home-based, with regular travel
Territory: Europe

The opportunity

A growing European CDMO is looking for an experienced Business Development Manager to drive new customer acquisition across its sterile fill-finish and drug-product development offering.

This is a genuine hunter position, focused on opening new accounts, building a strong European pipeline and converting technically complex sterile drug-product opportunities into development and manufacturing programmes.

The organisation supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers across formulation and drug-product development, technology transfer, clinical manufacturing and commercial-scale sterile fill-finish.

The successful candidate will join during a period of significant investment and manufacturing expansion. This is an opportunity to sell differentiated technical capabilities rather than competing purely on price or available capacity.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute a European business-development strategy for sterile fill-finish and drug-product services.
• Identify and win new pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers across Europe.
• Build a qualified pipeline of clinical and commercial sterile-manufacturing opportunities.
• Open new accounts and establish relationships with C-suite executives, external-manufacturing leaders, technical operations, pharmaceutical-development teams and procurement stakeholders.
• Sell integrated services covering:
  • drug-product and formulation development;
  • process development and scale-up;
  • technology transfer;
  • sterile fill-finish;
  • clinical manufacturing;
  • commercial manufacturing and supply.
• Identify customers facing complex formulation, stability, delivery-device or sterile-manufacturing challenges.
• Convert early development projects into longer-term clinical and commercial manufacturing partnerships.
• Work closely with scientific, development, manufacturing, quality and operational teams to create technically credible customer solutions.
• Lead the complete sales cycle, from prospecting and technical discussions through proposals, negotiations and contract award.
• Represent the organisation at relevant pharmaceutical and biotechnology conferences across Europe.
• Maintain accurate pipeline reporting, revenue forecasting and commercial activity plans.
• Provide market intelligence on customer demand, competitor activity and emerging sterile fill-finish opportunities.

Candidate requirements

The successful candidate will have:

• Proven CDMO business-development experience.
• Strong commercial experience within sterile fill-finish and drug-product manufacturing.
• A demonstrable history of opening new accounts and winning new customers.
• Evidence of personally generating qualified pipeline and securing revenue.
• A genuine hunter mentality, rather than a background focused primarily on key-account management.
• Technical credibility across:
  • sterile injectables;
  • aseptic manufacturing;
  • formulation and drug-product development;
  • technology transfer;
  • clinical manufacturing;
  • commercial supply.
• An established network across European pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
• Experience engaging C-suite executives and senior technical decision-makers.
• The ability to understand complex customer requirements and translate them into commercially viable development and manufacturing solutions.
• Strong negotiation, presentation and stakeholder-management skills.
• An independent and entrepreneurial working style.
• Willingness to travel regularly across Europe.

Highly desirable experience

• Experience selling sterile fill-finish services for biologics or other large-molecule products.
• Knowledge of multiple sterile injectable formats, including vials, pre-filled syringes and cartridges.
• Experience winning development programmes that progressed into clinical or commercial manufacturing.
• Familiarity with complex or difficult-to-manufacture drug products.
• An active customer network across biotech, pharmaceutical development, external manufacturing and technical operations.
• Experience building an underdeveloped European territory.
• Knowledge of the Swiss, German and wider DACH pharmaceutical markets.

What makes this opportunity different?

• Join a growing CDMO during a major period of investment and expansion.
• Sell technically differentiated sterile fill-finish capabilities.
• Support complex drug products that require genuine scientific and manufacturing expertise.
• Work across the full customer journey, from formulation development through clinical and commercial manufacturing.
• Build a new European customer pipeline rather than simply maintain existing accounts.
• Operate with significant autonomy and senior-level visibility.
• Work flexibly from Switzerland or Southern Germany.
• Influence the company's European commercial strategy and long-term growth.

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary: Approximately CHF 165,000, with potential flexibility based on experience and network
• Annual bonus: 20%
• Vehicle: Car allowance or preferential vehicle arrangement
• Working model: Flexible and home-based, with regular European travel
• Additional benefits: Competitive company benefits package

How to apply

This role is suited to an established sterile fill-finish business developer who can demonstrate:

• new CDMO accounts personally opened;
• sterile fill-finish opportunities generated;
• an active European pharmaceutical and biotechnology network;
• qualified pipeline built;
• and revenue personally secured.

To discuss the position confidentially, please apply with your CV and a brief overview of the sterile fill-finish services you have sold, the territories you have covered and examples of new business you have personally won.