Scientist II, Medicinal Chemistry

Scientist II, Medicinal Chemistry

About Initial Therapeutics

Initial Therapeutics is pursuing a bold and original mission: discovering and developing a new class of small molecule medicines designed to halt pathogenic protein formation in the earliest stages. Initial’s approach is unique and starkly differentiated from protein degradation and other interventions that recognize and tackle proteins only after they have been fully formed.

Initial Therapeutics was formed in 2020 and is currently operating in stealth mode in labs in South San Francisco, with a substantial (8- figure) Series A commitment. Initial is founded by world-renowned scientists who bring relevant expertise and proprietary technology to enable them to address high-confidence, heretofore difficult-to-drug targets in cancer and neurodegeneration. Screening of proprietary libraries is in progress.

Initial Therapeutics is founder-led and offers a dynamic start-up environment with a close-knit team of highly skilled, mission-driven professionals. We seek colleagues who are inspired to push the boundaries of small molecule discovery using novel approaches and who excel at identifying innovative solutions to challenging problems.

At Initial Therapeutics you’ll find a career where every day brings you adventures, challenges, and breakthroughs. Join a dynamic, diverse and growing team dedicated to developing transformative therapies that will revolutionize the future of cancer treatment and outcomes. Initial offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.

Position Summary and Scope

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated scientist with a strong background in synthetic and/or medicinal chemistry to join our growing medicinal chemistry team.  This individual will be responsible for applying the medicinal chemistry principles and knowledge to advance our drug discovery pipeline.  He/she will work with cross-functional teams to deliver small-molecule candidates toward the clinic in a collaborative and fast-paced biotech environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design efficient multi-step synthetic routes to target molecules to improve the potency and drug-like properties
• Analyze diverse data sets to build SAR, and propose new target molecules utilizing medicinal chemistry principles
• Optimize ADMET and in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties to advance research projects
• Effectively manage external chemistry CRO teams by providing technical supports and trouble-shootings
• Lead medicinal chemistry efforts and collaborate with other functional teams to deliver high quality candidate molecules for discovery projects
• Contribute effectively to patent applications and publications
• Be self-motivated and highly collaborative in a cross-functional environment
• Effectively communicate results and maintain excellent records
• Present research results at team and company meetings

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry or medicinal chemistry with 2–4 years pharmaceutical industrial experience
• Strong synthetic skills with excellent knowledge of modern synthetic methods and organic reactions through a track record in publication record and conversant with the current literature
• Ability to design new synthetic targets by applying medicinal chemistry principles and in a hypothesis-driven manner based on emerging SAR data
• Demonstrated creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills to overcome challenges
• Experience in managing and directing external chemistry FTEs is highly desirable but not required
• Organized, detail-oriented, and collaborative
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and able to present results to cross-functional audience

Initial Therapeutics is committed to being an Equal Opportunity employer and our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status and to affirmatively seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity.