Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Summary

Join Owkin's Drug Discovery & Development Team and contribute to transforming therapeutic discovery. Reporting to a seasoned leader, you will support internal drug discovery and in-licensing efforts, developing new computational methods. You will integrate AI-driven platforms and tools into the discovery process, shaping Owkin's preclinical pipeline. This role involves mentoring team members, refining methodologies, and driving projects to lead optimization. You will be accountable for supervising medicinal chemistry experiments, summarizing SAR data, proposing prioritization criteria, and contributing medicinal chemistry expertise during due diligence. If you are passionate about innovation and collaboration in drug discovery, apply now!

Requirements

• PhD (or equivalent experience) in synthetic, or medicinal chemistry
• Proven track record in drug discovery, including leading the medical chemistry activities for small molecule projects in pharmaceutical or biotech environments
• Strong expertise in compound design and optimization, including SAR (Structure-Activity Relationship) analysis, from HIT identification to preclinical candidate nomination
• Working knowledge of molecular modeling and computational tools for structure optimization
• Very good understanding of ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion) optimization
• Leadership capabilities, including guiding internal teams and experience managing tasks outsourced to CROs, including synthesis of small molecules, biochemical and cell based assays for screening
• Ability to follow and drive multiple programs simultaneously, ensuring alignment with timelines and budgets
• High level of organization, autonomy, and creativity in handling complex data and solving problems
• Interest in and experience with AI-driven and computer-assisted drug design
• Has an Ai mindset, with proven ability to collaborate with technological platforms, including atomistic calculations and generative AI systems, to design innovative molecules
• Ability to work at the intersection of chemistry and biology, integrating insights from various disciplines (e.g., biologists, chemists, data scientists, and project managers)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to present complex data, updates, and strategies clearly
• Familiarity with considerations around small molecule manufacturing scale-up and interactions with CMC
• Extensive knowledge of intellectual property processes, including drafting patentable chemical matter and collaborating with patent attorneys

Responsibilities

• Be accountable for and supervise the planned medicinal chemistry experiments performed by CRO(s) for in-house projects to ensure delivery of suitable candidate drug chemical matter, from hit prioritization, to hit-to-lead and lead optimization stages
• Summarize and rationalize Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) from medicinal chemistry papers, competitor’s patents, and external assets for potential in-licencing
• Propose prioritization criteria for drug candidate triaging during the whole drug discovery process, from HIT id to preclinical candidate nomination
• Bring medicinal chemistry expertise during asset due diligence
• Help validate the druggability of our candidate targets during the early target evaluation steps
• Design and revise the medicinal chemistry of small molecule plans for new chemical entities, in partnership with CRO(s)
• Perform virtual screening experiments and integrate that in the wet lab discovery process
• Test and apply our GenAI methods in drug discovery projects; help drive the models towards useful, synthesizable molecules
• Support our internal method development
• Participate in our internal R&D, striving to keep Owkin’s methodology to the state-of-the-art
• Bring knowledge around target families, modes of actions from the drug discovery perspective
• Work in an cross functional drug discovery team
• Present results to leadership and committees in a clear and concise manner for decision making
• Lead, in collaboration with Owkin IP director, data selection and compilation for patent filing on the new chemical matter discovered and characterized in the drug discovery programs

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience contributing to in-licensing efforts, including due diligence activities
• Patents application of chemical matter

Benefits

• Flexible work organization
• Friendly and informal working environment
• Opportunity to work with an international team with high technical and scientific backgrounds