Exec Director/ AVP, Antiviral Medicinal Chemistry

Proclinical has partnered with an AI Drug Discovery Biotech based in Boston to hire an Exec Director/ AVP, Antiviral Medicinal Chemistry. The organization is committed to developing faster and more effective methods of drug development by applying the latest research in artificial intelligence, machine learning and modern high-performance computational methods. They are leaders in the field of AI driven drug discovery and have successfully delivered drug molecules into clinical development.

This position is integral to the build out and support of the Company's ambitious antiviral drug discovery pipeline with an initial focus on Pandemic Response & Preparedness.

Job Responsibilities:

• Leading multiple drug discovery programmes,
  you will direct project delivery and influence the shape and size of the Antiviral research portfolio.
• Support and drive workflows from selection of targets to IND submission applying your domain expertise and knowledge as well as advising the Executive Leadership Team.
• This will include shaping and owning TPP focused delivery of IND ready data packages (initially for at least 5 candidates across a spectrum of viruses) and liaising closely with colleagues in Early Development.
• Continuously look for ways to improve the effectiveness of project and portfolio delivery.
• Build a group of experienced medicinal chemists with appropriate background in the antiviral space to deliver the antiviral portfolio.
• Analyse test results, propose design hypotheses and strategies as well as working within project core teams to shape the screening cascade to evaluate lead molecules.
• In collaboration with design team members, you will identify sets of new target molecules for completion by synthetic teams within preferred CROs or our external collaborators.
• Provide medicinal chemistry input on potential new biological targets to support decisions on their inclusion in the portfolio (e.g., druggability & tractability assessments, strategic approach, hit-finding strategies).
• Provide mentorship to less experienced project team members as they build their careers.

Skills and Requirements:

• Educated to PhD level with 10+ years' experience of industrial medicinal chemistry applied to antiviral research.
• Highly motivated with a track record of candidate delivery of antivirals.
• Embrace modern drug discovery technologies.
• Enthusiastically apply algorithm-derived compound designs.
• In depth experience in targeted medicinal chemistry approaches focusing on proteases and or the polymerase complex.
• Experience in rational structure-based drug design.
• Domain knowledge in medicinal computational chemistry or structural biology as applied to contemporary drug discovery.
• Prior involvement with Early Development teams.
• Knowledge in nucleoside chemistry and prodrug strategies.
• Experience in candidate selection in the absence of clear in vivo efficacy data as well as candidate risk profiling e.g., rate of resistance development.
• Network of academic KOLs to expedite compound profiling in specialized antiviral assays.

If you are having difficulty in applying or if you have any questions, please contact Max Robinson at (+1) 857-362-9542 or M.Robinson@proclinical.com.

Proclinical is a specialist employment agency and recruitment business, providing job opportunities within major pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies.

Proclinical Staffing is an equal opportunity employer.

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