Medical & asset strategy
Clarify the medical thesis, target product profile, differentiation and evidence priorities.
Fractional medical leadership
A Fractional Chief Medical Officer when the decisions cannot wait.
Add experienced, dermatology-specific medical leadership without committing to a full-time executive hire. FDP works inside the decision process, aligns the critical workstreams and stays accountable for execution.
The search language
Looking for a part-time Chief Medical Officer? The model is usually called fractional.
Many biotech and medtech CEOs recognise the need before they know the name of the model: experienced medical leadership, but not yet a full-time executive hire. A Fractional Chief Medical Officer provides that part-time access with an executive mandate, defined accountability and a scope aligned to the company’s development stage.
What the role covers
One medical leader across six connected workstreams.
The remit is configured around the asset and company stage, not around a generic advisory package.
Clinical development
Guide indication selection, endpoints, trial design, investigator dialogue and benefit–risk decisions.
Medical affairs & launch
Build the medical narrative, evidence-generation plan and external engagement roadmap.
Executive representation
Bring medical credibility to boards, investors, partners and cross-functional leadership teams.
Due diligence
Assess scientific validity, clinical relevance, competitive position and development risk.
Team & partner orchestration
Shape the right lean operating model and activate specialist expertise only where needed.
The distinction
Fractional does not mean peripheral. It means precisely allocated.
A fractional Chief Medical Officer is part of leadership for a defined portion of the week or month. The role carries accountability, represents the medical perspective in executive decisions and translates strategy into action. This is different from receiving an occasional outside opinion.
When to engage
Six signals that the model may fit.
01
Your asset has reached a decision point that needs senior medical judgment.
02
The founders or CEO are carrying medical decisions without an experienced medical executive.
03
You need investor, board or partner credibility before a full-time hire makes sense.
04
Clinical, medical and commercial workstreams are moving, but not yet moving as one.
05
A launch, indication expansion or lifecycle choice needs dermatology-specific leadership.
06
You need an independent view of an asset, device or acquisition opportunity.
Engagement designFLEXIBLE · ACCOUNTABLE · LEAN
- Focused decision
- Strategic session or fixed project
- Ongoing guidance
- 2–4 days per month
- Embedded leadership
- 1–2 days per week
Start with the outcome, then size the role.
Every engagement begins by defining the decision, deliverable and operating cadence. FDP can lead directly, coordinate a lean specialist network or complement an existing medical team.
The principle is simple: use the seniority the problem requires, for the time it creates value.
Review Carlos Peralta’s experienceFrequently asked questions
From part-time need to fractional leadership.
What is a part-time Chief Medical Officer?
A part-time Chief Medical Officer is a senior medical executive who works with a company for a defined portion of the week or month. The role can cover clinical development, medical strategy, evidence generation, executive representation and other medical workstreams without requiring a full-time hire.
Is a Fractional CMO the same as a part-time CMO?
The terms often describe a similar time commitment. Fractional CMO places greater emphasis on an embedded executive mandate: defined accountability, integration with leadership and ownership of agreed outcomes rather than occasional advice.
When should a biotech company hire a part-time CMO?
The model is useful when an asset reaches a consequential development, financing, partnering or launch decision, but the company does not yet need or cannot justify a full-time medical executive. It can also bridge the period before a permanent CMO is recruited.
How much time does a Fractional CMO typically commit?
The commitment is designed around the outcome. It may range from two to four days per month for ongoing guidance to one or two days per week for embedded leadership through active development, due diligence or launch preparation.
How is a Fractional CMO different from a medical advisor?
A medical advisor generally provides recommendations. A Fractional CMO participates in leadership decisions, aligns connected workstreams, represents the medical perspective externally when needed and remains accountable for execution within the agreed remit.
A focused first conversation
What medical decision is slowing your next move?
Share the asset, challenge or decision. We will identify whether a strategic session, project or fractional role is the right fit.
Start the conversation carlos@functionaldermatologypartner.com