Pioneering Medicines: Vice President / Senior Vice President - Head of Biology (Invitro and InVivo Pharmacology)

Flagship Pioneering•Cambridge, MA

10d

About The Position

Pioneering Medicines, Flagship Pioneering’s in-house drug development unit, is dedicated to conceiving and developing a broad portfolio of life-changing treatments for patients built from Flagship’s innovative platforms. Harnessing the drug development expertise of its team together with the power of Flagship's multiple scientific platforms, Pioneering Medicines explores and identifies new product concepts which are then advanced jointly with Flagship’s bioplatform companies. Within Flagship’s Innovation Supply Chain partnerships, Pioneering Medicines works with external collaborators to apply its unique approach to partners’ R&D priorities. These partnerships are highly co-creative strategic alliances that accelerate therapeutic innovation by bringing together partners spanning the full spectrum of drug discovery, development, and production. Reporting to the CSO, this position serves as a member of the Drug Discovery leadership team and will work collaboratively with all other Functions in Pioneering Medicines (PM), as well as with other Flagship Pioneering companies (FSP). This individual will oversee Discovery biology and pharmacology activities within the company, a world-class organization dedicated to the discovery and advancement of novel therapeutic approaches across different disease areas. The ideal candidate will have experience in target identification/validation, drug discovery, and preclinical translational research. This individual will play and serve as a critical interface between Discovery Biology/Translational Sciences and Clinical Development leadership to support a portfolio with several preclinical and clinical programs.

Requirements

PhD in Cell Biology or related field with broad expertise in autoimmunity, metabolic disease and/or inflammation research.
A minimum of 10 years of scientific experience after the doctoral degree and a distinguished record of progressive leadership in a relevant scientific organization(s)
Solid background in drug discovery is required
Expertise in multiple modalities such as small molecules, large molecules, gene therapies and cell therapies
Experience leading projects and teams in pre-clinical pharmacology, inflammation and/or translational research
Extensive publication record in first-tier journals and a knowledge-base that can contribute to an innovation-centric research organization
Outstanding management expertise with strong administrative skills and experience in planning, scheduling, and execution of multiple programs and projects, strategic planning in a dynamic and cutting-edge research environment
A demonstrated track record of being an effective collaborator
The ability to recruit, train, and inspire a high-performing team that is prepared to meet the ongoing challenges and opportunities of a rapidly growing and ambitious organization

Responsibilities

Work with CSO and other company leaders to develop and implement Research Strategy
Lead a department of cell biologists, pharmacologists for the discovery of new therapeutics in autoimmune, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic space.
Lead the investigation of disease biology and identification/validation of new drug targets and execute efficient preclinical lead optimization and translational biology, incorporating target engagement and functional biomarkers of drug action.
Work across FSP to identify targets, platforms, or other areas of collaboration.
Ensure scientific rigor across a robust portfolio of both early and late-stage discovery programs and exploratory research in emerging areas of autoimmunity and cancer
Oversee strategic and tactical execution of discovery research and preclinical activities to enable robust, timely and compliant IND submissions with clear development paths
Lead and recruit at the highest scientific caliber and maintain an effective network of outside partners, KOLs, collaborators and service organizations
Lead partnerships with external collaborators to deliver company research priorities and meaningfully contribute to the product portfolio
Participate in the identification and evaluation of potential programs across the FSP landscape.