Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Role Summary

Alkermes has an exciting opportunity for a talented scientist to join our Research Organization as a Director to help lead medicinal chemistry efforts from target ideation through to candidate nomination for neurological disease indications. The desired candidate will be a recognized expert in successfully initiating and managing the medicinal chemistry activities inside a given portfolio and will play a key strategic role in shaping discovery direction and compound design strategy. The candidate will have a proven track record of utilizing structure-based drug design (SBDD) to rationally design compounds that have progressed to candidate delivery. Additionally, the candidate must have direct experience of working with both internal and external partners (e.g., CROs) to facilitate medicinal chemistry activities. Exceptional cross-functional communication skills as well as experience in leading drug discovery teams are necessary attributes.

Responsibilities

• Lead medicinal chemistry projects to ensure project progression and candidate drug delivery using state-of-the-art design principles and strategies.
  • Work closely with computational chemistry to implement relevant predictive models to aid in the design of new compounds.
  • Foster a close collaboration with synthetic chemistry to enhance design through synthesis.
  • Utilize state of the art design tools to provide systematic data analysis to assist in hypothesis driven compound design.
    • Collaborate with cross-functional colleagues to focus project priorities, objectives, and outcomes.
    • Advise and assist project leaders in the development of strategic, scientific, and technical strategies for the progression of molecules by evaluating the needs of projects across the portfolio for all proposed compounds.
• Provide medicinal chemistry insight for new target and lead identification.
• Lead strategic efforts to shape discovery direction, guide compound design strategies, and influence portfolio decision making.
• Help build and expand internal chemistry capabilities.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry with 10+ of medicinal chemistry experience, direct experience of CNS drug discovery would be a plus.
• Recognized expert in contemporary medicinal chemistry approaches and principles that contribute to the delivery of candidate drugs.
• Strong expertise in utilizing SBDD to guide hypothesis driven compound design.
• Demonstrated delivery of clinical compounds through medicinal chemistry design principles.
• Adept at using medicinal and computational chemistry software tools.
• Understanding of overall drug discovery process and how to drive compound design.
• Ability to independently define key scientific questions and design rigorous experiments in collaboration with internal and external partners to answer these questions.
• Demonstrated ability to work seamlessly in a cross-functional matrixed environment.
• Track record of training, development and mentoring of scientific personnel, and a strong history of developing top-tier talent, including but not limited to PhD level scientists.
• Record of publishing peer reviewed scientific articles and presenting at professional conferences.
• Highly organized, detailed-oriented with excellent communication and collaboration skills i.e. must have ability and judgment to communicate/present appropriate information.
• Excellent time-management skills.
• Be a role model in behaviors and Alkermes’ way of working.
• Act in accordance with all Alkermes’ policies for personnel, EHS, etc.