Director, Translational Pharmacology
Travere Therapeutics
August 08, 2026
Remote friendly (San Diego Metropolitan Area)
United States
Clinical Research and Development
Position Summary:
Director, Translational Pharmacology (Research and Nonclinical Development). Key scientific contributor to external evaluation of business development opportunities in rare disease, assessing therapeutic rationale, disease biology, mechanism of action, translational strategy, pharmacology data, biomarker approaches, and development feasibility; also supports internal translational pharmacology activities.
Responsibilities:
Business Development and Scientific Due Diligence
- Serve as preclinical biology lead/key contributor for BD evaluations (small molecules to biologics, all stages; external assets/platforms/research collaborations).
- Assess scientific rationale, MoA, disease biology, pharmacology/toxicology, translational relevance, safety window, biomarker strategy, and development feasibility.
- Review nonclinical/translational data with clinical/regulatory/competitive inputs to identify strengths, risks, gaps, and value drivers.
- Partner with BD to produce scientific assessment reports, diligence questions, risk summaries, and recommendations.
- Identify critical experiments/analyses/expert input to reduce uncertainty.
- Support evaluation of strategic fit with portfolio, therapeutic areas, rare disease focus, and translational capabilities.
Translational Pharmacology and Disease Biology
- Provide translational pharmacology expertise across preclinical and clinical-stage opportunities; interpret in vitro/in vivo/ex vivo, biomarkers, PD, and clinical pharmacology data.
- Evaluate data supporting MoA, target engagement, dose rationale, patient selection, and clinical strategy.
- Integrate mechanistic biology, pharmacology, biomarkers, and clinical observations to assess potential and risk.
- Stay current on industry trends, targets, technologies, and competitive activity.
- Identify new indications/patient populations with meaningful benefit.
External Scientific Engagement
- Lead/contribute to interactions with external companies, academics, CROs, consultants, KOLs, and SMEs.
- Identify/engage experts; support evaluation of proposals and collaborations.
- Represent the company in scientific meetings and conferences.
Nonclinical and Regulatory Support
- Interpret pharmacology/toxicology/translational/biomarker data in context of clinical development and regulatory expectations.
- Evaluate adequacy of nonclinical packages for planned development.
- Contribute to development plans/budgets (translational strategy, nonclinical safety needs, biomarker plans, early clinical considerations).
- Support preparation/review of investigator brochures, briefing documents, regulatory submissions, and development documents.
- Identify nonclinical/translational gaps impacting timelines, regulatory strategy, or probability of success.
Organizational Leadership and Culture
- Provide scientific leadership in a collaborative, matrixed organization; support transition from diligence to integration/collaboration management.
- Foster scientific rigor; mentor colleagues and build capabilities.
- Manage multiple concurrent diligence/program activities; influence without formal authority.
Education/Experience Requirements (Required unless noted):
- Bachelor’s in Life Science/related field required; PhD/MD/PharmD (preferred) in relevant discipline.
- Minimum 10 years relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience required (or 6 years with advanced degree).
- Strong knowledge of pharmacology in nonclinical and clinical development.
- Commitment to patient-centered scientific evaluation.
- Experience evaluating drug candidates, MoA, disease biology, and pharmacology data.
- Working knowledge of regulatory expectations for nonclinical/translational support.
- Experience leading scientific initiatives/workstreams/diligence or multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to synthesize complex data, identify risks/opportunities, and communicate recommendations.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills; strong organization/prioritization.
- Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced, virtual biotech environment.
Preferred:
- Rare disease/rare metabolic disease/nephrology/immunology/inflammation or related therapeutic area experience.
- Prior formal due diligence for BD/licensing/acquisition/collaborations.
- Experience with nonclinical toxicology/safety for IND and clinical development.
- Experience developing/evaluating translational plans (MoA→target engagement→PD→biomarkers→clinical outcomes).
- Familiarity with biomarker strategy, patient selection, human translational systems, disease pharmacology models.
- Experience with CROs/academic investigators/consultants/SMEs.
- Experience preparing executive-level summaries/diligence reports.
- Strong project leadership and cross-functional influence.
- Not 100% remote; face-to-face work/onsite in San Diego required.
Benefits:
- Premium health, financial, work-life and well-being offerings, wellness/support programs, life insurance, disability, retirement with employer match, and generous paid time off.
- Target base pay range: $189,000.00–$246,000.00.
Application Instructions:
- Travere will accept applications on an ongoing basis until a candidate is selected for the position.
Director, Translational Pharmacology (Research and Nonclinical Development). Key scientific contributor to external evaluation of business development opportunities in rare disease, assessing therapeutic rationale, disease biology, mechanism of action, translational strategy, pharmacology data, biomarker approaches, and development feasibility; also supports internal translational pharmacology activities.
Responsibilities:
Business Development and Scientific Due Diligence
- Serve as preclinical biology lead/key contributor for BD evaluations (small molecules to biologics, all stages; external assets/platforms/research collaborations).
- Assess scientific rationale, MoA, disease biology, pharmacology/toxicology, translational relevance, safety window, biomarker strategy, and development feasibility.
- Review nonclinical/translational data with clinical/regulatory/competitive inputs to identify strengths, risks, gaps, and value drivers.
- Partner with BD to produce scientific assessment reports, diligence questions, risk summaries, and recommendations.
- Identify critical experiments/analyses/expert input to reduce uncertainty.
- Support evaluation of strategic fit with portfolio, therapeutic areas, rare disease focus, and translational capabilities.
Translational Pharmacology and Disease Biology
- Provide translational pharmacology expertise across preclinical and clinical-stage opportunities; interpret in vitro/in vivo/ex vivo, biomarkers, PD, and clinical pharmacology data.
- Evaluate data supporting MoA, target engagement, dose rationale, patient selection, and clinical strategy.
- Integrate mechanistic biology, pharmacology, biomarkers, and clinical observations to assess potential and risk.
- Stay current on industry trends, targets, technologies, and competitive activity.
- Identify new indications/patient populations with meaningful benefit.
External Scientific Engagement
- Lead/contribute to interactions with external companies, academics, CROs, consultants, KOLs, and SMEs.
- Identify/engage experts; support evaluation of proposals and collaborations.
- Represent the company in scientific meetings and conferences.
Nonclinical and Regulatory Support
- Interpret pharmacology/toxicology/translational/biomarker data in context of clinical development and regulatory expectations.
- Evaluate adequacy of nonclinical packages for planned development.
- Contribute to development plans/budgets (translational strategy, nonclinical safety needs, biomarker plans, early clinical considerations).
- Support preparation/review of investigator brochures, briefing documents, regulatory submissions, and development documents.
- Identify nonclinical/translational gaps impacting timelines, regulatory strategy, or probability of success.
Organizational Leadership and Culture
- Provide scientific leadership in a collaborative, matrixed organization; support transition from diligence to integration/collaboration management.
- Foster scientific rigor; mentor colleagues and build capabilities.
- Manage multiple concurrent diligence/program activities; influence without formal authority.
Education/Experience Requirements (Required unless noted):
- Bachelor’s in Life Science/related field required; PhD/MD/PharmD (preferred) in relevant discipline.
- Minimum 10 years relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience required (or 6 years with advanced degree).
- Strong knowledge of pharmacology in nonclinical and clinical development.
- Commitment to patient-centered scientific evaluation.
- Experience evaluating drug candidates, MoA, disease biology, and pharmacology data.
- Working knowledge of regulatory expectations for nonclinical/translational support.
- Experience leading scientific initiatives/workstreams/diligence or multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to synthesize complex data, identify risks/opportunities, and communicate recommendations.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills; strong organization/prioritization.
- Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced, virtual biotech environment.
Preferred:
- Rare disease/rare metabolic disease/nephrology/immunology/inflammation or related therapeutic area experience.
- Prior formal due diligence for BD/licensing/acquisition/collaborations.
- Experience with nonclinical toxicology/safety for IND and clinical development.
- Experience developing/evaluating translational plans (MoA→target engagement→PD→biomarkers→clinical outcomes).
- Familiarity with biomarker strategy, patient selection, human translational systems, disease pharmacology models.
- Experience with CROs/academic investigators/consultants/SMEs.
- Experience preparing executive-level summaries/diligence reports.
- Strong project leadership and cross-functional influence.
- Not 100% remote; face-to-face work/onsite in San Diego required.
Benefits:
- Premium health, financial, work-life and well-being offerings, wellness/support programs, life insurance, disability, retirement with employer match, and generous paid time off.
- Target base pay range: $189,000.00–$246,000.00.
Application Instructions:
- Travere will accept applications on an ongoing basis until a candidate is selected for the position.