Associate Director/Director, DMPK

Kumquat Biosciences is committed to the discovery and development of innovative drugs to transform cancer treatments. Kumquat brings together an accomplished management team and distinguished scientific founder to translate innovative research to novel therapeutics. Our team has a proven track record of drug discovery and development, having played pivotal roles in the discovery of multiple clinical-stage compounds as well as approved drug for the treatment of cancer and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

We are currently seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated DMPK lead to join our experienced drug discovery and early development team in San Diego. This candidate will report to the Executive Director of Preclinical R&D, and work closely with members within DMPK, biology and chemistry team to drive early discovery research programs into early clinical development while providing scientific and technical expertise. The successful candidate should demonstrate extensive relevant experience of working in a multifunctional DMPK group and intersection of various areas and show fundamental understanding of various DMPK assays and their application in solving broader project challenges. He/she should have significant experience and skills representing DMPK on multiple project teams and the ability to mentor and train junior members of the DMPK group.

Experience working in a leadership role as part of a multifunctional DMPK group in a pharmaceutical company with productive, relevant employment experience is required. The candidate should be highly motivated with excellent organizational and reporting skills and will manage in-vivo and in-vitro ADME/PK studies in support of drug discovery and early development of small molecules. Experience in writing/reviewing nonclinical section of regulatory submissions and contracting/managing CROs for nonclinical studies is a plus.

• Doctoral or Master’s degree in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, or equivalent with relevant industry experience of 10+ or 15+ years.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment, as well as in a team setting.
• Strong ability to manage multiple studies and DMPK activities simultaneously and be able to assist in troubleshooting when instrument or assay problems arise.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to design drug candidates avoiding metabolic liabilities and evaluate and select drug candidates based on potency in the biological target and on overall ADME profile and drug-drug interaction liabilities.
• Manage and motivate in-house DMPK team player with a can-do attitude and good interpersonal skills.
• Evaluates and interprets in vitro and in vivo DMPK data and liaises with DMPK colleagues to design studies to address key project issues.
• Prepare DMPK documents to support development candidate nominations and regulatory filings.