Director, Antibody Drug Conjugate

Role Summary

As a member of the biotherapeutics group, lead efforts to advance the discovery and development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) at Exelixis, leveraging medicinal chemistry expertise. Support discovery research and early process development activities for ongoing and new ADC programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead, build and execute antibody on Exelixis’ ADC pipeline programs.
• Provide ADC chemistry expertise in state-of-the-art ADC technologies including linkers, payloads, novel conjugation methods, analytical assessments and testing and bring novel ideas to POC.
• Technical expert from Biotherapeutics group on ADC-related internal projects.
• Interact and collaborate with internal departments and external colleagues to discuss and resolve project needs and issues in research and early development of ADCs.
• Provide support in evaluation of ADC research platforms and preclinical licensing candidates as needed.
• Provide critical scientific/technical data analysis, interpretation of experiments and report writing.
• Design, implement and oversee the execution of in vitro bio-functional assays such as efficacy/bystander/metabolite assessments/bioanalysis/mechanism of action studies/etc. for bioconjugate candidate screening and selection as needed from discovery to lead selection.
• Effectively communicate scientific concepts, study findings and interpretations to multi-disciplinary teams.
• Interact and collaborate with internal departments to deliver quality and timely findings in support of drug candidate advancement.
• Lead scientific efforts in cancer target identification/validation.
• Manage, supervise, plan and prioritize workflow for laboratory-based scientific staff.
• Follow company intellectual property and compliance policies and practices.
• Comply with company health and safety policies and general laboratory practices.
• Supervises staff, including hiring, scheduling and assigning work, reviewing data, setting criteria for product quality and scalable and developable processes, reviewing performance, and recommends salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions or terminations.

Qualifications

• Strong scientific understanding of mechanism of action of cytotoxins and ADCs is essential.
• Development of ADC therapeutics from screening to development candidate nomination.
• Hands on laboratory experience in ADC discovery including critical reagent generation, identification and optimization of ADCs, protein production, purification, analytics and characterization.
• Demonstrated drive for rigorous scientific excellence. Ability to think critically and creatively to identify and solve scientific problems.

Skills

• Knowledge of state-of-the-art in different aspects of ADC research including conjugation technologies, linkers and payloads.
• Extensive knowledge of ADC platforms, applications and development. Comprehensive understanding of current approaches and emerging technologies in ADCs.
• Strong background in chemistry and/or biochemistry.
• Knowledge of intellectual property matters, and issues related to ADCs.
• The knowledge to apply advanced scientific and technical principles, theories and concepts, and contribute to the development of new principles and concepts.
• Ability to work independently, excellent time management and organization skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills.
• A strong team player.
• Good tracking record and report writing.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biochemistry, biology or a related discipline and a minimum of thirteen years of related experience; or,
• Master’s degree in chemistry, biochemistry, biology or a related discipline and a minimum of eleven years of related experience; or,
• PhD degree in chemistry, biochemistry, biology or a related discipline and a minimum of eight years of related experience; or,
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Requirements

• Travel required (10%)
• Exposures encountered, such as hazardous materials, extreme cold.