Principal Scientist, Drug Safety

MSD • North Wales, PA

1d • $231,900 - $365,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The CSRM Physician, Principal Scientist, is a physician leader in pharmacovigilance responsible for the overall clinical risk management and safety surveillance of assigned investigational and marketed products. This role leads the development and maintenance of risk management and pharmacovigilance plans and chairs the Risk Management and Safety Team (RMST) for assigned products. The CSRM Physician partners closely with colleagues across Clinical Development, Epidemiology, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, Manufacturing, and other functions to ensure integrated safety strategies, robust benefit-risk evaluation, and timely execution of global pharmacovigilance and risk management activities. The position has global scope and supports product development, regulatory review, and post-approval safety activities. This is an individual contributor position with no direct reports or budgetary responsibility.

Requirements

• M.D., D.O., or equivalent medical degree.
• Minimum of 3 years of clinical experience following postgraduate medical training or other relevant clinical experience.
• Excellent communication, writing, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated organizational leadership skills, preferably in clinical safety, pharmacovigilance, risk management, drug development, or a related area.
• Ability to apply sound medical judgment to complex safety information and communicate clear benefit-risk assessments and recommendations.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across functions and operate successfully in a global, matrixed organization.
• Clinical Development
• Clinical Risk Management
• Clinical Safety
• Cross-Functional Project Management
• Detail-Oriented
• Medical Review
• Medical Writing
• Pharmacovigilance
• Risk Management
• Safety Evaluation
• Safety Strategy
• Scientific Leadership

Nice To Haves

• Board Certification.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a core member of Product Development Teams and chair the RMST for assigned products, with participation on related internal and joint internal/external project teams as appropriate.
• Partner with Clinical Development to ensure clinical programs support robust safety assessment of investigational compounds.
• Work with Clinical Research and other partners to develop benefit-risk evaluations for aggregate safety reports and regulatory submissions.
• Provide medical and scientific leadership for the ongoing evaluation of safety information throughout the product lifecycle.
• Evaluate safety data from multiple sources, including clinical trials, scientific literature, and post-approval use.
• Lead safety surveillance activities for assigned products, including aggregate clinical trial data analyses and post-approval safety signaling reviews.
• Apply medical judgment to the review of aggregate safety data and individual cases and collaborate with CSRM Associates in overseeing surveillance activities.
• Ensure the completeness and medical accuracy of safety information in Company Core Data Sheets and oversee the review and approval of product labeling files maintained in the safety database.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of MedDRA and apply appropriate medical terminology in safety evaluation and documentation.
• Lead the development and maintenance of risk management and pharmacovigilance plans for assigned products.
• Develop recommendations for pharmacovigilance actions, product labeling, risk minimization activities, and broader risk management strategies in collaboration with CSRM Associates and cross-functional partners.
• Provide scientific strategy and medical oversight for safety-related documents, including Common Technical Document components, Risk Management Plans, Periodic Safety Update Reports, aggregate reports, and regulatory filing summaries.
• Ensure safety sections of Company product circulars are medically and scientifically appropriate.
• Prepare safety summaries and analyses for regulatory documents and filings and, as applicable, oversee Medical Associates supporting safety data analysis and document authoring.
• Collaborate with Clinical Development, Epidemiology, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, Manufacturing, and other stakeholders to align safety activities with global pharmacovigilance and risk management strategies.
• Communicate safety issues, benefit-risk considerations, and recommended actions clearly to cross-functional teams and decisionmakers.
• Participate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of departmental standards, processes, metrics, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to a culture of scientific rigor, patient focus, accountability, and effective collaboration.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal