Medicinal Chemist

Job Summary/Experience:

Genome Therapeutics Ltd (GTx) is seeking a medicinal chemist with experience in pre-clinical drug discovery to drive the development of novel therapeutics that target G-quadruplex structures. The ideal candidate will manage outsourced drug discovery activities and play a key role in the design and synthesis of lead compounds, applying a comprehensive understanding of medicinal chemistry principles across internal programmes from hit-to-lead through to candidate nomination.

GTx is a fast paced multidisciplinary company, offering training and experience in genomics, computational biology, drug discovery and clinical studies.

Location: This is an on-site position based at the GTx labs in Cambridge UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Leverage expertise in organic and medicinal chemistry to design and synthesise novel small molecules across multiple programmes and chemotypes
• Monitor and interpret biological, ADME/PK, and physicochemical property data to propose and execute innovative strategies for improving key drug attributes
•  Manage multiple CRO relationships, providing synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise and guidance, and driving productivity and deliverables
• Provide regular updates on project results both internally and externally
• Effective written communication, including responsibility for drafting and maintaining patent applications and scientific publications
• Meticulous record-keeping and strong data organisation using commercial data management systems and electronic notebooks

Essential Skills/Experience:

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry with >5 years industry experience within pharma/biotech
• Exposure to medicinal chemistry programmes from hit identification through to candidate nomination
• Understanding of the multi-parameter optimisation process and ability to integrate disease biology, ADME/PK and toxicology data to solve complex drug discovery problems.
• Management of outsourced drug discovery projects

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Prior experience of drug discovery programmes in the field of oncology
• Knowledge of in silico tools to aid drug design