GlaxoSmithKline K.K. Posted November 6, 2026

Japan Medicine Development Lead (J-MDL) Specialty

Akasaka, Japan Full time
Notify me about similar jobs

GlaxoSmithKline K.K. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

【Job Purpose】

The Japan Medicine Development Lead (J-MDL) is accountable for a medicine development in Japan to

ensure delivery differentiated medicines of value for patients, stakeholders and markets in Japan. The J-MDL

serves as the asset level point-of-contact for Medicine Development Leader (=MDL), and asset single point

of contact to Japan senior management and Japan governance board. JMDL must work closely with MDL

not only successful launch for Japan but also overall success for GSK Global as one of the key leaders in

Global Medicine Development Team (=MDT).

【Key Responsibilities】

⚫ Provide leadership and collaborates with the central Medicine Development Team (MDT) to create

overall integrated development strategies that support optimal medicine development for Global as

well as Japan, including Integrated Evidence Plan (IEP) and Medicine Profile. Serves as the asset level

point-of-contact for the central Medicine Development Leader (MDL).

⚫ Acts as a single point of accountability for all aspects of a medicine development in Japan from initiation

of Japan development to launch in Japan. Provide clinical leadership and asset/disease expertise for the

clinical trial program and indications in scope

⚫ Delivers differentiated medicines of value for patients, stakeholders and markets in Japan on time

within budget, through an evidence package that supports regulatory approval, market access, and

product life cycle in Japan.

⚫ Provide Matrix Leadership in Japan (i.e. Japan Medicine Development Team) to ensure integrated

approach, robust planning, and execution oversight. Also supports differentiated development for team

members; owns the performance of J-MDT and partners with line managers to drive performance.

Serves as the single accountable decision maker to resolve disputes among the J-MDT.

⚫ Works closely with the Japan Early Development Leader (J-EDL) as well as Japan Medical Lead (J-MAL)

and Japan Commercial Lead (JCL) to ensure a smooth transition between the J-EDL (accountable from

C2CS to initiation of Japan development) to J-MDL (accountable from initiation of Japan development to

the first approval in Japan) and from J-MDL to J-MAL/JCL (accountable after the first approval in Japan).

⚫ Asset single point of contact and spokesperson to Japan senior management and Japan governance

board (e.g. Portfolio Investment Board Japan).

⚫ Engages with external experts and professional societies to gain insights to design and deliver clinical

development strategy.

⚫ Proactively identifies unmet medical needs that could be addressed through line extensions in Japan.

Prioritizes and maximizes the asset’s portfolio options including developing multiple indications in

Japan.

⚫ Responsible for making recommendations to TAL/IET Leader and senior stakeholders on benefit risk

assessment, Go/No-go criteria, and Clinical PoS for the program in scope

⚫ To create the communication strategy and represent GSK externally and keep good relationship with

Regulatory and government organisations

Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, PMDA

Japanese Government (Cabinet minister, Minister office)

National Center, Researech Institute (National Cancer Hospital etc) Scientific Societies, EEs

Patient Groups

CRO

⚫ Ensures quality & compliance oversight in line with R&D expectations and project needs; assures quality

of data and science. Ensures excellence in execution of all governance processes, including oversight of

all studies, pharmacovigilance, scientific engagement and promotional practices.

⚫ J-MDL is accountable for delivering and managing the asset resourcing plan in Japan. In addition, the J

MDL is accountable for managing the asset budget in Japan.

Minimum Level of Job-Related Experience & education

⚫ Master of Science or equivalent.

⚫ MD, PhD, PharmD preferred

⚫ Subject matter expert in neurology, immunology and/or cardiometabolic disease

⚫ Experienced in external engagements with KOLs and professional societies

⚫ Experience with early phase clinical research

⚫ Considerable pharmaceutical industry experience is required

⚫ Experience of working with Japan regulators and regulatory requirements including an understanding of

the legal and government frameworks

⚫ Fluent in Japanese and English

⚫ Great communication and influencing skills

Skills

Agile Thinking, Clinical Development, Clinical Trial Designs, Decision Making, Fostering Collaboration, Influencing Without Authority, Leadership, Matrix Leadership, Mentorship, People Management, Project Management, Risk Management, Strategic Thinking, Teamwork, Time Management

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and providing equal opportunities for all applicants. We embrace an agile working culture across our roles, so if flexibility is important to you please discuss opportunities with our hiring team. If you need any adjustments to the recruitment process to help you demonstrate your strengths and capabilities, contact APACRecruitment.Adjustments@gsk.com . Please note this email is for adjustment requests only; for other enquiries please use our standard contact channels.

Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies

GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK's commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK. GSK shall therefore not be liable for any fees arising from such actions or any fees arising from any referrals by employment businesses/agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Clinical Development
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Akasaka, Japan
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Clinical Development role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1411 comparable Clinical Development roles across 104 biopharma companies.

1411Comparable roles tracked
1286Currently active
104Companies hiring similar roles
51Countries represented

Salary context

420 of 1411 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.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $0 – $468,000 (median $201,050)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1411 comparable roles

United States736
India128
United Kingdom86
China69
Poland34
Japan33

+ 45 more countries

Seniority mix

975 of 1411 peers have a known seniority level

Manager271
Director240
Senior150
Associate Director118
Senior Director65
Associate45
Principal34
Executive/VP31
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc21

Therapeutic area mix

208 of 1411 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology104
Immunology36
Neuroscience31
Cardiovascular / CVRM11
Respiratory9
Dermatology & Aesthetics7
Vaccines & Infectious Disease4
Ophthalmology3
Rare Disease2
Gastroenterology1

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.

40%similar
Novartis Toranomon (NPKK Head Office), Japan
Same function Same country
40%similar
BMS Japan Otemachi-JP, Japan Associate
Same function Same country
40%similar
Sanofi KK (Japan) Tokyo, Japan
Same function Same country
40%similar
Regeneron Japan KK Tokyo, Japan Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Biogen Tokyo, Japan
Same function Same country
40%similar
UCB Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Same function Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Clinical Development job in Japan, and choose locations and companies.

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.

40%
Japan Program Clinical Head (CRM)
Novartis · Toranomon (NPKK Head Office), Japan · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Clinical Operations and Study Leader
Sanofi KK (Japan) · Tokyo, Japan · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Clinical Development Lead(MD採用枠)
UCB · Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Field Service Engineer Clinical/ Lab Water_Life Science
Merck KGaA · Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 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.