Vice President, Research & Non-Clinical Development

Role Summary

Kiniksa is seeking a Vice President of Research & Non-clinical Development to join our innovative team and accelerate drug candidates to approval. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the incumbent will drive pre-clinical and translational activities for Kiniksa’s pipeline of biologics programs within autoimmune and cardiovascular therapeutic areas. The role requires strategic and scientific leadership for research teams spanning preclinical, biomarker and early clinical development, and the ability to lead multiple workstreams in a fast-paced, agile environment. Operational leadership with a hands-on approach to project plans in a lean organization is essential. This role is based in Lexington, MA, five days in the office.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with leaders across the company to plan and execute on the R&D strategy
• Lead, manage, develop, and retain a high-performance team, and provide development opportunities and mentoring to the team
• Provide strategic and scientific leadership to develop integrated research plans
• Lead translational research across research and development groups, collaborating with medical directors, clinical pharmacologists and nonclinical research scientists; ensure early definition of clinical development strategy and biomarker plans
• Guide execution of drug discovery research and preclinical (IND-enabling) activities to enable robust, timely and compliant IND submissions with clear development paths
• Oversee DMPK/ADME and toxicology studies supporting the advancement of pre-FIH development programs into clinical stage as well as other non-clinical activities in support of ongoing clinical development programs
• Plan, resource and prioritize in-house and outsourced pharmacology activities
• Provide support and guidance for in vivo work with external academic/industry collaborators and with CROs
• Evaluate new therapeutic opportunities, and initiate additional pipeline programs in close collaboration with business development and medical affairs
• Manage a portfolio of therapeutics across diverse disease areas
• Communicate scientific data internally and externally by overseeing messaging for study reports and regulatory documentation, contributing to high impact scientific manuscripts, identifying and managing external research collaborations, and engaging with scientific advisors and consultants
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, discovery, and cutting-edge research focused on scientific excellence, open communication, and continual improvement

Qualifications

• Requires a PhD with 15+ years of industry experience in translation research and drug discovery
• Demonstrated ability to transition programs from preclinical stage through IND into early clinical development; specific experience with biologics preferred
• Deep understanding of in vivo pharmacology and strong track record of driving research-stage programs into the clinic
• Track record of excellence and innovation as demonstrated by multiple peer-reviewed publications and co-inventorship on patents
• Ability to work productively with and influence diverse project leads on cross-functional project teams
• Engaging personality and strong leadership, mentoring and people management skills
• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong presentation skills, and demonstrated ability to manage by influence and problem-solve in a highly matrixed organization
• Prior success with research in a hands-on, highly collaborative growth environment; ability to work independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working in cultures where courage, commitment and excellence are the backbone of the leadership profile
• Salary is commensurate with experience

Skills

• Strategic scientific leadership
• Translational research and biomarker development
• Preclinical program management (IND-enabling studies)
• DMPK/ADME and toxicology oversight
• In vivo pharmacology
• Cross-functional collaboration and influence
• Scientific communication and journal/publication conduct

Education

• PhD in a relevant life sciences field