Section Head, Medicinal Chemistry

About the role

The Medicinal Chemistry Department at the China Innovation Center of Roche (CICoR) in Shanghai is a community of drug hunters working in synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. Its mission is to turn disease-relevant biological hypotheses into small molecule therapeutics for high unmet medical needs, including oncological, autoimmune, inflammatory, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. As Section Head, you will lead a group of highly skilled medicinal chemists (at least 8, primarily PhDs) and report directly to the Head of Medicinal Chemistry.

Key responsibilities

• Lead internal and external chemistry teams (CROs) on small molecule drug discovery programs, establishing SAR and SPR profiles for potency, DMPK and safety.
• Formulate project strategies covering target compound profile, hit generation approaches, screening cascade, decision matrices and patent strategies, aligned with site-wide disease and technology strategies.
• Steer drug discovery campaigns and make go/no-go decisions from hit generation through to clinical candidate nomination.
• Build collaborative networks with project peers and take on new diseases or technology areas as assigned.
• Evaluate novel target or technology opportunities and support due diligence when requested.
• Manage the performance and career development of the medicinal chemistry team.

Required profile

• PhD in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry or chemical biology.
• Over 8 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, or equivalent academic tenure.
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Required skills

• Comprehensive grasp of small molecule drug discovery methods and deep knowledge of therapeutic fields such as oncology, autoimmune, inflammatory, cardiovascular or metabolic diseases.
• Knowledge of technology platforms such as covalent drugs, induced proximity and ADCs.
• Proven track record of delivering milestones from target validation to clinical candidate selection for a first-in-class target.
• Excellent problem-solving, learning agility, communication and stakeholder influence skills.