Industry Partnerships Lead – LISCO-BIOMED

Industry Partnerships Lead – LISCO-BIOMED

About LISCO-BIOMED
The KU Leuven Institute for Single Cell Omics (LISCO) is a leading Cell Center in the world. Within LISCO, a dedicated innovation, translation and service platform in biomedicine, termed LISCO-BIOMED, brings together internationally recognised expertise in single-cell and spatial multi-omics, and integrates capabilities across single-cell sequencing, advanced imaging, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, automation, microfluidics, molecular and cellular biology, disease modelling and clinical pathology.
This interdisciplinary environment enables us to bridge discovery science, technology development and clinical translation. We collaborate with academic, clinical and industry partners to address complex translational research questions by combining advanced technologies with methodological innovation, disease biology and scientific interpretation. Our capabilities span the workflow from sample preparation and assay development through data generation, computational analysis, biological interpretation and advanced modelling. Access to specialised pathology expertise at UZ Leuven further enables tissue context and clinically relevant interpretation to be integrated into projects.
LISCO-BIOMED has established a strong industry portfolio of more than 10 pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, ranging from global pharma leaders to emerging biotech innovators. Leveraging its advanced multi-omics capabilities, LISCO-BIOMED supports industry R&D across the drug development pipeline, from early discovery through clinical development and lifecycle management. To further strengthen its position as a strategic scientific partner for industry, we are seeking an experienced commercial professional to lead the development and growth of LISCO-BIOMED’s industry services portfolio and associated partnerships. The role therefore combines business development, strategic account management, commercial negotiation and partnership development, with responsibility for industry relationships from first engagement through contracting and into follow-on business.

Business development and market engagement

• Develop relationships and commercial opportunities across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and other relevant life-science organisations, with a primary focus on pharma and biotech.
• Build and manage a qualified pipeline aligned with LISCO-BIOMED’s scientific strengths and strategic priorities, and develop relationships with key scientific, business and decision-making stakeholders.
• Identify market needs and emerging opportunities, represent LISCO-BIOMED at relevant partnering events and industry forums, and bring market and customer insights into portfolio and commercial strategy.

Commercial leadership and deal execution

• Qualify and prioritise opportunities based on scientific fit, strategic value and commercial potential, and translate partner needs into compelling propositions together with the relevant scientific and technical experts.
• Coordinate proposals and quotations based on the agreed scientific scope, project effort, cost structure and commercial framework.
• Define pricing and commercial positioning within agreed margin and pricing parameters and lead commercial negotiations within the defined mandate.
• Coordinate contracting with KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) and the relevant compliance and project functions through to signature and implementation.

Building winning teams and partnerships

• Build opportunity-driven multidisciplinary teams, bringing together the most relevant principal investigators, scientists, technology platforms and specialist expertise across LISCO-BIOMED, combining technological capabilities with disease biology, pathology, clinical and computational expertise to develop differentiated solutions for industry partners.
• Connect LISCO-BIOMED with complementary capabilities across UZ Leuven, other KU Leuven translational platforms and the broader KU Leuven research and innovation ecosystem where this strengthens the proposition.
• Coordinate the internal team during the commercial phase, bringing the right expertise into the discussion at the right stage while maintaining a clear and coherent interface towards the partner.
• Work with IOF Innovation Managers, LRD and relevant scientific teams when an opportunity extends beyond standard service delivery into collaborative research, consultancy, licensing, co-development or a broader strategic partnership.
• Retain commercial ownership of partner relationships throughout project delivery while day-to-day execution is managed by the relevant project team.
• Develop account plans, understand programmes and decision structures within key accounts, and identify opportunities to expand collaborations across programmes, t