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Preclinical Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic (DMPK) Project Leader within Early Respiratory & Immunology (R&I)

Location Gothenburg, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Job ID R-220175 Date posted 18/02/2025

Do you have extensive Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic (DMPK) expertise with a background in medicinal chemistry, pharmacy, pharmaceutical science and/or drug discovery, and would you like to apply your expertise in a global company that follows the science and turns ideas into life-changing medicines? Then you could be the new colleague we are looking for!


We are now seeking an experienced and motivated individual to join the team as a Preclinical DMPK Project Leader (Senior Scientist/Associate Principal Scientist/Principal Scientist, depending on your level of professional experience), preferably with experience across multiple modalities. 

At AstraZeneca Respiratory & Immunology, we're proud to have an outstanding workplace culture that encourages innovation and teamwork. We are united by our vision to push the boundaries of DMPK science to transform ideas into medicines for R&I patients. Employees are empowered to express diverse perspectives - and are made to feel valued, energized and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.


What you’ll do:
In the role you would work collaboratively with discovery project representatives from other disciplines including medicinal chemistry, biology, safety and pharmaceutical sciences. You will influence drug design and optimization of ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) properties. Hence, it is your responsibility to ensure delivery of all DMPK related activities, including in vitro ADME, biotransformation, bioanalysis, preclinical PK and PD underpinning human dose prediction to early drug projects from target selection to candidate drug selection. We believe that you have a solid understanding of DMPK and chemistry and that you will be able to provide expert advice and interpretation of complex drug discovery data. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities
•    Responsible for leading all DMPK related activities, including coordinating and engaging with internal and external DMPK colleagues and collaborators, on project related activities. Deliver DMPK input and data to projects within agreed timelines and to the right quality to ensure that DMPK challenges are thoroughly assessed and resolved.
•    Contribute to the design of preclinical in vivo studies to answer crucial project questions.
•    Accountable, together with other functions such as Medicinal Chemistry, Bioscience and Safety, for compound design and effective cross-discipline optimization. Apply an understanding of DMPK and PKPD to support/influence project progression and strategy as well as providing the framework for human dose predictions.
•    Prepare clear presentations related to the above for internal governance interactions

Essential requirements:
•    PhD in Medicinal, Organic or Physical Chemistry or bio-pharmaceutics/pharmacokinetics or equivalent experience in a relevant field
•    Formal training or proven experience of working with pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism and a good understanding of pharmacodynamics
•    Understanding of correlations between physicochemical characteristics and their influence on DMPK properties and subsequent design of new compounds
•    Have (at least) basic PK modelling skills, experience of human dose and PK prediction as well as understanding of disease biology and linking to PKPD understanding
•    Extensive experience (5+ years) of working in preclinical DMPK 
•    Experience from drug discovery, cross-functional working and compound/project progression
•    Ability to engage and collaborate across boundaries with a problem solving attitude and focus on delivery
•    Strong communication skills

Why AstraZeneca? 
At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration. Always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development 

What's next?
This is an exciting opportunity for a talented DMPK scientist to join a strong, dynamic team and support the portfolio of a major pharmaceutical company that has science at its heart whilst being based in the beautiful city of Gothenburg, Sweden. If you are ready to make a difference – apply today and together we will make it happen! We welcome your application until March 14, 2025.

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AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.

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