Senior Medicinal Chemist
Cambridge
Job Purpose:
My client are an early-stage biotechnology company, and are looking for an experienced Medicinal Chemist to lead small molecule drug discovery programs, from hit identification to candidate selection stages. You will work closely with external CROs and be responsible for day-to-day medicinal chemistry activities. Your role involves designing and implementing novel synthetic routes to chemical targets, driving projects through innovation, design, and development.
Duties of the role includes:
- Lead all medicinal chemistry projects and manage associated CRO relationships.
- Implement and drive innovative drug discovery strategies using deep expertise in the design of medicinal chemistry and synthetic chemistry pathways.
- Apply structure-based drug design principles leading to advanced leads and/or development candidates.
- Manage your work to achieve drug discovery project targets within agreed timelines and standards by applying technical knowledge and expertise.
- Prepare results for presentation at internal and external meetings and for patents.
Education and Work Experience:
- PhD in medicinal chemistry, synthetic chemistry, or chemical biology.
- Ideally, 10+ years of demonstrated work experience in drug discovery.
- Experience in leading projects from inception to development candidate nomination.
Key Competencies:
- Expertise in medicinal chemistry, alongside an excellent understanding of biology, pharmacology, DMPK (drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics), and drug physicochemical properties.
- Creative and innovative mindset with a passion for medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
- Demonstrated critical thinking skills and creativity to overcome challenging synthetic chemistry problems.
- Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively within cross-functional teams, including chemistry and biology areas.
- Familiarity with computational chemistry, cheminformatics, and structure-based design.
- Excellent understanding of early-stage patents, patentability, and freedom to operate.