Associate Scientist/ Sr. Associate Scientist, Immunoassay

Company Profile:
 
Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX) is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The Company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent, broad-spectrum pneumococcal conjugate vaccine being developed for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The Company is re-engineering the way highly complex immunizations are made through modern synthetic techniques, including advanced chemistry and our exclusively licensed XpressCFTM cell-free protein synthesis platform. Unlike conventional cell-based approaches, the Company’s system for producing difficult-to-make proteins and antigens is intended to accelerate its ability to efficiently create and deliver high-fidelity vaccines with enhanced immunological benefits. Vaxcyte’s pipeline also includes VAX-XP, a PCV with an expanded breadth of coverage of greater than 30 strains; VAX-A1, a prophylactic vaccine candidate designed to prevent Group A Strep infections; and VAX-PG, a therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease. The Company is driven to eradicate or treat invasive bacterial infections, which have serious and costly health consequences when left unchecked. For more information, visit www.vaxcyte.com.
 
Vaxcyte, headquartered in San Carlos, CA, went public in June 2020 and currently has a team of approximately 100 employees and anticipates continued, significant growth. On January 6, 2022, Vaxcyte announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for VAX-24, its lead vaccine candidate. The Company initiated the VAX-24 Phase 1/2 clinical proof-of-concept study in adults in the first quarter of 2022 and expects to announce Phase 2 topline immunogenicity, safety, and tolerability results by the end of the year. VAX-24 was designed to prevent IPD, which can be most serious for infants, young children, older adults and those with immune deficiencies or certain chronic health conditions. Given the global impact of pneumococcal disease remains significant, the public health community continues to advocate for vaccines that can offer broader protection to prevent IPD. Vaxcyte’s PCV franchise, consisting of VAX-24 and VAX-XP, is designed specifically to address this need and has the potential to deliver the broadest protection for this very serious disease.

Summary:

Vaxcyte is looking for an energetic and talented individual to join our Immunoassay team. The primary responsibility for the incumbent will be to support the developmental activities currently on going in the laboratory through the management and undertaking of key stability indicating assays, primarily the bioassay which supports both product dose and the key stability indicating endpoint. This assay uses MSD as the analytical measurement tool and it will be used to assess both drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) concentration and stability.

The final product is an adjuvanted vaccine, with the antigens of interest being bound to solid aluminum particles. Part of the complexity of this assay is the development of the system to effectively remove the antigens from this surface prior to analysis. Matrix effects and stability of the product throughout this process will also need to be assessed. There are numerous serotypes of this antigen within the drug product, so this multi-valency requires a separate assay to be developed and optimized for each serotype. Ultimately, all assays for the DS and DP analysis will need to be pre-validated prior to transfer to a CMO. Assistance in developing further MSD/ELISA based immunoassays for phase 3 and research pipeline programs will also be required, and this position will play a significant role in both.

This is arguably one of the most complex Drug Products being developed to date in the pharmaceutical arena, due to the number of antigens and the adjuvanted system, so it is an incredible opportunity for the right candidate to make a hugely significant mark on the product and the company. This position is for a scientific role which will be a mainly lab based, but will require good scientific judgement to appropriately design and execute the required experimentation. The candidate needs have a significant level of independence, scientific judgement and rigor.
Requirements: 

• BSc or MSc in Chemistry or Analytical Chemistry preferred, Organic / Biochemistry.
• Considered, with >5 years of industrial experience.
• The ideal candidate will have had extensive monoclonal based immunoassay experience, including ELISA/MSD, in both the development, optimization, qualification and pre-validation/validation of said assay(s).  Trouble shooting and aiding in OOS investigations is required.
• The ability to present complex data sets and independently propose and design follow-up experiments is also required.
• Experience in protein purification as well as analytical assays such as HPLC/UV and other spectrometric methodologies/Western blots, BCA etc. are desired.
• Reagent management (LIMS System) experience is a plus.
• Attention to detail and excellent skills in record keeping / documentation. Critical thinking and ability to analyse data.
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in written formats.
• Ability to work under supervision in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment and collaborate effectively with other team members. Eagerness and ability to learn and understand new concepts with ease.
• All Vaxcyte employees require vaccination against COVID-19.

Reports to: Senior Scientist

Location: San Carlos, CA
 
Compensation:
The compensation package will be competitive and includes comprehensive benefits and an equity component.
 
 
Send resumes to:
careers@vaxcyte.com
 
Vaxcyte, Inc.
825 Industrial Road, Suite 300
San Carlos, CA 94070