Senior Toxicologist - Predictive & Investigative Safety Assessment

Job Description

The Predictive and Investigative Safety Assessment group is seeking candidates with a strong desire to be part of a highly innovative company aimed at transforming the lives of people with serious diseases, their families and society. This role will be located at our European research site in Oxford, UK, and will support preclinical safety assessment for the Oxford research portfolio from target selection through the lead optimization phase. This individual will design and lead safety assessment strategies for Vertex research programs targeting the root cause of serious diseases with high unmet medical need. The approaches are primarily small-molecule focused but there is the potential to work on other modalities. This role will provide the individual with an excellent opportunity to work closely with Oxford research colleagues and to make a significant impact.

Key Responsibilities:

• In partnership with our Oxford research and safety assessment colleagues, lead, strategically plan, and manage Oxford research toxicology programs from target identification to candidate selection for repeat-dose toxicology studies, in advance of preclinical development.

• Build strong cross-functional collaborations between Pre-clinical Safety Assessment and research project teams in Oxford.

• Perform early safety assessments of Vertex therapeutic targets and discovery compounds to identify potential development challenges and develop strategies to address these challenges.

• Collaborate with our in vitro, in silicoand safety pharmacology groups to de-risk and design-out any identified liabilities.

• Interact with strategic outsourcing partners to design and execute external toxicology studies to meet any specific project needs.

• As therapeutic candidates progress, interact closely with toxicologists from the Exploratory and Regulatory Safety Sciences group at Vertex to ensure smooth progression of molecules into repeat-dose toxicology studies in advance of first in human (FIH).

• Support the functional leadership in implementing the multisite strategy for Predictive and Investigative Safety Assessment within Vertex through selective use of new and established technologies to deliver efficient de-risking and investigational endpoints for current therapeutic leads.

• Communicate unambiguous critical and significant project information to various bodies including project teams and Vertex leadership as required.

• Collaborate with external groups within both the academic and industrial sectors to complement Vertex’s discovery toxicology capabilities.

• Collaborate on design and execution of investigative in vivotoxicology studies in support of both research and development compounds.

Key Requirements

• Ph.D. in Toxicology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry or a related field.

• Extensive experience in the Pharmaceutical or a related industry.

• Proven abilities within the Discovery Toxicology/Investigative Toxicology arena.

• Working knowledge of cross-disciplinary drug discovery.

• Experience of working on cross-functional project teams.

• Proven scientific acumen with the ability to creatively seek resolutions to pharmacological / toxicological issues.

• Strong and demonstrable interpersonal skills with an ability to develop solid, long term relationships and to influence others.

• Problem solver who is highly organized with the ability to thrive and lead in a matrixed work environment with rapidly changing priorities.

Company Information