About this opportunity
Title:
Head of R&D, Japan
Company:
IPSEN K.K.
About Ipsen:
Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.
Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!
For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/ and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram .
Job Description:
Head of Research & Development, Japan
Tokyo | Hybrid
Ipsen is seeking an accomplished R&D leader to lead our scientific and development organisation in Japan.
This is a senior executive leadership position, representing R&D on the Japan Leadership Team and connecting Japan with Ipsen’s global R&D organisation. The role holds overall accountability for R&D strategy and portfolio development in Japan, alongside responsibility as the Marketing Authorization Holder Representative (Sokatsu).
Key responsibilities
Define and lead the long-term R&D strategy and portfolio priorities for Japan.
Drive clinical development and regulatory strategies supporting development, registration and lifecycle management of innovative medicines.
Act as the senior R&D partner to the General Manager, Japan and Global Asset Teams.
Lead the Japan R&D community across Clinical Development, Regulatory, Medical and Patient Safety.
Hold senior accountability for MAH responsibilities, product quality, safety, efficacy and regulatory compliance.
Represent Ipsen with PMDA, MHLW, industry bodies and external scientific stakeholders.
About you
You will bring:
Significant R&D leadership experience within a global pharmaceutical organisation.
A track record of progressing assets through development, registration and post-approval.
Deep understanding of the Japanese pharmaceutical, healthcare and regulatory environment.
Strong experience engaging with PMDA and MHLW.
A Japanese pharmacist license and eligibility to serve as Sokatsu.
The ability to lead and influence senior teams within a complex global matrix.
Fluent Japanese and business-level English.
This is an opportunity for an established R&D leader to shape the future of Ipsen’s R&D organisation and portfolio in Japan while influencing development strategy at a global level.
We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and supported; where we embrace “The Real Us”. The value we place on different perspectives and experiences drives our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities. When we include diverse ways of thinking, we make more thoughtful decisions and discover more innovative solutions. Together we strive to better understand the communities we serve. This means we also want to help you perform at your best when applying for a role with us. If you require any adjustments or support during the application process, please let the recruitment team know. This information will be handled with care and will not affect the outcome of your application.
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Regulatory Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 531 comparable Regulatory Affairs roles across 108 biopharma companies.
Salary context
126 of 531 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 531 comparable roles
+ 43 more countries
Seniority mix
417 of 531 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
51 of 531 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
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How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.