The VP of Drug Discovery will be part of the company’s leadership team and contribute to the company’s vision for developing products that can address unmet medical needs. Closely working with the CEO and CSO, you will build and oversee early-stage drug development programs, from early discovery to IND submission. Together with our colleagues of computational chemists, biologists, and deep learning experts, you will be developing both best-in-class and first-in-class drug candidates.
The ideal candidate will provide strategic and tactical oversights for hit discovery, lead discovery, DMPK, and CMC efforts. The VP of Drug Discovery will be accountable for designing and implementing Celeris Therapeutics’ intellectual property strategy.

This position has the unique opportunity to further create visions and implement strategies that will major impact the TPD drug discovery field. The successful candidate is a confident leader with extensive prior success in drug development, preferably in multiple disease areas such as oncology, neurodegenerative and aging-related diseases, and is a proven leader with strong skills in scientific program management, communication, and team building. You will lead the company’s drug discovery platform and a team of highly talented scientists, in addition to working together with the head of medicinal chemistry to advance the company’s pipeline and mission to bring novel medicines to patients.

• Define and execute the company’s drug discovery platform and strategy
• Manage a portfolio of targets related to Oncology and Neurology, oversee strategic execution of drug discovery research and preclinical activities to enable robust, timely, and compliant IND submissions with clear development paths
• Contribute to evaluating out-licensing opportunities
• Direct the execution of multiple concurrent drug discovery programs, including setting scientific direction, development of program timelines, monitoring of key milestones and decision points, and managing the scientific team
• Serve as the spokesperson for the drug discovery department by representing and promoting our organization to stakeholders, including board presentations, investors, and the scientific community
• Engage with external partners, clinical and academic collaborators, and CROs
• Generate a robust publication record in leading journals and present findings at key conferences
• Participate in recruiting, coaching, and developing internal talents
• Build, lead, and manage a high-performing group of talented scientists
• Perform research and development in collaboration with other functions in projects pertaining to a range of potential indications
• Communicate, as appropriate, efforts and progress to internal and external parties

• • Ph.D. in Chemistry, Drug Discovery, Pharmacology, or related discipline with 10+ years of relevant post-Ph.D. experience in Biotech/Pharma with an excellent track record
  • 5+ years of scientific leadership experience leading research teams working on multiple concurrent multidisciplinary projects in a drug discovery setting (biotech or large pharma)
  • Successful track record of leading drug discovery programs, especially with novel targets
  • Track record of excellence and innovation as demonstrated by multiple peer-reviewed publications and co-inventorship on patents
  • Broad experience in multiple therapeutic areas (e.g., oncology, neurology, or infectious diseases)
  • Experience advancing drugs against novel targets to IND stage in diverse therapeutic areas and molecular target classes
  • Understanding of the current competitive and regulatory landscape in targeted protein degradation
  • Experience in the discovery and preclinical development of therapeutics targeting undruggable targets
  • Experience leading collaborations with external academic, biotechnology, and contract research organizations
  • Ability to organize and communicate complex data sets clearly and concisely to key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds