Overview

The Senior Vice President, Discovery Biology & Biomarkers will oversee the target and drug discovery biology and biomarker activities at Monte Rosa Tx. The team is responsible for understanding the role of the targets of interest in a disease-relevant setting, the mechanism of action of the compounds, and the translational research and biomarker activities to support the clinical team during drug development. The team will produce data to advance compounds towards the following decision points: Development Candidate, IND, and into clinical development. The Senior Vice President will drive early discovery biology in collaboration with the biomolecular sciences team, advance drug discovery activities in collaboration with chemistry, DMPK, and toxicology, lead translational research and biomarker activities, and collaborate with the clinical team to develop the development plan.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the executive management team to prioritize and advance preclinical drug discovery programs from concept through IND submission.
• Articulate vision, strategy, and performance metrics for drug discovery biology at Monte Rosa Tx. ·
• Lead scientific activities with strong attention to rigor and differentiation to permit advancing drug candidates as first-in-class/best-in-class therapies for diseases with unmet need. ·
• Implement and help inform intellectual property strategy, working closely with executive management and IP teams.
• Assist in projecting resources and financial budgets to support discovery programs from the exploratory stage through the development stage to clinical development.
• Plan and execute biological strategies for one or more drug discovery programs, explore target mechanisms of action, and validate therapeutic hypotheses in preclinical models.
• Collaborate within cross-functional teams, manage external research through CRO or academic collaborations, and advance projects through preclinical development milestones.
• Provide biological leadership to drug discovery project teams.
• Manage the activities of the internal biology teams across two international sites by cooperating with scientists from relevant disciplines within the organization to ensure the effective progress of drug discovery projects.
• Identify and collaborate with Contract Research Organizations (CROs), consultants, and academic collaborators to design and execute studies to demonstrate proof of concept.
• Oversee in vitro and in vivo studies to demonstrate efficacy, discover and validate pathways and biomarkers related to mechanism of action and drug response.
• Collaborate with and contribute to multidisciplinary drug development teams.

Qualifications

• PhD (with 20+ years) with experience in translational research to support basic science research as well as small molecule drug discovery and development.
• Expertise in immunology/inflammation or neuroinflammation preferred with significant small molecule pharmacology experience.
• Advanced numerous clinical candidates as project leader in large and small companies – helped to delineate the clinical path by working in close proximity with the clinical team.
• Experience filing INDs and supporting interactions with regulatory agencies.
• Overseen the biology and translational medicine departments in a small biotech responsible for drug discovery.
• Experience elucidating the mechanism of action of compounds and translational research