Scientist I, Discovery, Targeted Therapy

Scientist I, Discovery, Targeted Therapy

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .

Purpose and Scope:

To enhance our ability to serve cancer patients, deeper understanding of cancer biology in the context of diseases such as GI/GU cancers is crucial. We are seeking a highly motivated and collaborative Scientist to join our Oncology Discovery team, focusing on uncovering novel biological mechanisms and therapeutic targets in cancer and immuno-oncology. This individual will play a critical role in designing and executing laboratory experiments aimed at advancing early discovery programs that address unmet needs across diverse tumour types. The Scientist-I, Discovery, Targeted Therapy, will report to the Head, Discovery, Targeted Therapy.

Job Responsibilities:

In this role, you will contribute to our early-stage pipeline by:

• Designing and conducting experiments to explore tumor-intrinsic and immune-mediated mechanisms of cancer progression and response to therapy.

• Generating high-quality data to support target validation, mechanism-of-action studies, and biomarker identification in oncology and immuno-oncology contexts.

• Collaborating across multidisciplinary internal teams and with external partners to translate innovative scientific insights into actionable therapeutic strategies.

• Contribute to target and indication selection for different programs in the division

• Work with external CROs and academic laboratories - establish new partnerships and manage the existing ones.

• Analyse, interpret, and summarize the experiment data both in written and oral reports.

• Effectively draw conclusions from the results and define next steps. Maintain a detailed lab notebook. Present the program updates to diverse set of audience.

• Work in a fast-paced environment and meet the goals in the targeted time frame.

• Keep abreast of emerging developments in the fields of oncology and immune oncology that would advance the existing programs and identification of new discovery programs.

• Support onboarding and mentorship of junior team members as needed.

Qualifications

Required:

• D. (or equivalent) in Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related field, with 0-2 years of demonstrated laboratory experience in oncology and/or immuno-oncology, or MS with typically 6+ years of highly relevant experience or BS with typically 8+ years of relevant experience

• Proven track record of impactful scientific contributions and independent research in cancer biology or immuno-oncology.

• Strong working knowledge of molecular and cellular assays relevant to tumor biology and immune function, including in vitro and in vivo systems.

• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced research environment and contribute to team-oriented project goals.

• Understanding of pharmaceutical product development, manufacturing, and regulatory science

• Contributed to the successful progression of drug candidates

• Strong scientific acumen

• Strong written and spoken communications skills in English

• Self-motivation with a proactive mindset

• Strong interpersonal influence and active listening skills, flexible team player with the highest ethical and business standards

Preferred:

• Experience in small molecule and/or proximity inducing drug discovery or antibody-based therapeutics

• Deep understanding and experience of using in vitro & in vivo disease models from rodents to human disease samples

• Experience working within large pharma organizations and/or biotech/start up environment

Working Environment:

• This position is based in Cambridge US and will require to be on-site 5 days/week.

• Participation in meetings scheduled for early mornings and late nights is regularly required.

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

• Generous Paid Time Off options, including Vacation, Sick time, plus national holidays including Heritage Days, and Summer and Winter Breaks

• 401(k) match and annual company contribution

• Company paid life insurance

• Annual Corporate Bonus and Quarterly Sales Incentive for eligible positions

• Long Term Incentive Plan for eligible positions

• Referral bonus program

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability.

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Category Cancer Biology

Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.

EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans