Associate Director - Research & Development - Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology/Clinical Research

Associate Director of Research & Development

Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology/Clinical Research

Central Islip, New York, USA

In the last 80+ years, the Client has emerged as one of the most respected pharmaceutical names in India as well as across more than 100 countries. The client is a fast-growing pharmaceutical company which the view to preserve our strong legacy and carve out a stronger future, they articulated our 2022 winning aspiration to double the number of patients we serve and hence double the impact we create as a global pharmaceutical company.

Job Details

Experience 10 - 15 Years

Annual Salary 130000.00-150000.00 USD

Work Location : Central Islip, New York, USA

Domain Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology/Clinical Research

Job Description

- NO H1B employment sponsorship.

- Due to the amount of time required with H-1B transfer petitions and other related activities, it is our preference to not provide employment sponsorship. Please request the recruiters to provide resumes of candidates who do not require employer sponsorship. Thanks.

- Please find below the difference between the two Associate Director of R&D Scientist roles.

- One position is to oversee the R&D team and activities for the Cipla New York (InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) business unit.

- The other position is to oversee the R&D team and activities for the Cipla USA Exelan business unit which will also be located at the Cipla New York site.

Other info:

Both positions will report to the SVP of R&D.

Ph.D. is mandatory.

JOB DESCRIPTION

- The Associate Director, R&D position will lead all research and development (R&D) activities at the client. In this role, the Associate Director will lead a team of scientists comprised of formulation, process development, technology transfer, and analytical sciences. This position will report to the Senior Vice President and Head of R&D, North America. This position is based out of Long Island, NY.

The job duties for this position include but are not limited to the following:

- Lead all R&D activities as related to the development and registration of products via 505(b)(1), 505(b)(2) and 505(j) pathways.

- Lead a team of scientists comprised of pre-formulation, formulation, manufacturing process development, technology transfer, established product support, analytical sciences with a focus on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), excipients, intermediates, and finished products.

- Lead internal pipeline projects and collaborations with development partners (strategic development partners, CROs, CDMOs, etc.).

- Manage scope, cost, time of projects as related to delivery against business objectives.

- Operate as the subject matter expert (SME) on pre-formulation and formulation, process development and technology transfer or analytical sciences as applied to development, characterization, process analytical technologies (PAT) and incorporation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, packaging material, and devices to develop finished products. Products may range from internal product development projects, products that are commercialized, products that are in-licensed from an external entity or products that are co-developed with a development partner.

- Conduct API, excipient, packaging characterization; excipient compatibility and forced degradation studies. Recommend stage-appropriate acceptance criteria for vendor and regulatory specifications. Utilize relevant theoretical modeling and statistical tools, as required.

- Develop robust lab-scale, pilot-scale and commercial-scale manufacturing process based on Quality by Design (QbD) principles using design of experiments (DOE). Recommend stage-appropriate acceptance criteria. Utilize PAT where feasible. Utilize relevant statistical tools, as required.

- Review and analyze relevant stability data from lab-scale, pilot-scale and commercial-scale, R&D and GMP stability studies by utilizing industry-standard modeling and analysis tools including regression analysis for shelf-life prediction. Develop and implement strategies to control related substances, where applicable.

- Work with relevant cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., Commercial Operations, Quality Control, Quality Assurance, etc.) on scale-up and technology transfer of processes from R&D to commercial functions.

- Lead and/or participate in activities related to process development, process verification/qualification, process pre-validation, process validation, site and equipment qualification in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

- Operate as the subject matter expert (SME) on analytical methods for various internal and external projects. Independently develop, assess and/or verify and validate analytical test methods for APIs, excipients, packaging components, devices and drug products using industry standard methodologies including QbD principles for analytical methods; US FDA or EU guidance's and requirements; United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) guidelines; International Council for Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Techniques may include standard tools like HPLC, UPLC, UV, GC, LC-MS, Viscometer, Karl-Fisher, IR, Particle size analyses, XRPD, DVS, Rheometer, etc. to more specialized techniques such as LS-MS/MS, NMR, SS-NMR, Synchrotron, etc.

- Act as the single-point technical contact for contract research organizations (CROs) and/or contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). Collaborate with project management (PM) function to lead the execution of activities against the approved plan.

- Provide relevant subject matter expertise in collaboration with external partners in the form of participation in technical strategy discussions; consultation on technical studies; hands-on characterization and/or third-party interface (e.g., CROs, CDMOs, etc.)

- Draft high-quality industry-standard technical documents (protocols, reports, technical memorandums, position papers, etc.).

- Lead and/or participate in conducting data and hypothesis-driven investigations for quality events (planned and unplanned deviations) with recommendations of relevant corrective and preventative actions (CAPAs) to line functions.

- Independently draft and/or review standard operating procedures (SOPs).

- Maintain effective and pro-active communication and coordination of activities with multi-functional stakeholders.

- Draft and/or participate in drafting relevant sections of dossiers towards 505(b)(1), 505(b)(2) or 505(j) submissions. Lead studies in support of responses to United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA) information requests or deficiency letters for various dossiers.

- Train staff, peers and junior staff members on new techniques.

TYPICAL DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES

- New product development

- R&D activities such as pre-formulation, formulation, process development or analytical method development

- Technical Troubleshooting

- Technology Transfer

- Process Validations

- Method Validations

- New Analytical Method Development

- Leading activities at CROs and CMOS

- Drafting dossier supportive documents

- Drafting and responding to relevant requests from the US FDA or EU authorities

- Working with external partners on technical activities

- Technical Management

- Functional Group Management

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

- Doctorate in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Industrial Pharmacy, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry. Decorate in Biochemistry, Peptide Chemistry or Protein Chemistry is preferred.

- The successful candidate must have a strong analytical and formulation background.

- In-depth understanding of UV-Vis, Liquid Chromatography (LC), Gas Chromatography (GC) and Spectroscopy techniques such that IR is a must. Experience with analytical techniques such as dissolution, particle size analysis, dynamic vapor sorption (DVS), x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), analysis of peptide, proteins, biophysical characterization and techniques such as Bio-NMR, ITC, DSC, DLS, SLS, CD, Fluorescence, UV-Vis, SPR, HPLC, UPLC, MS is a plus.

- An in-depth understanding of the theoretical principles of laboratory analytical techniques in Analytical Sciences is a must.

- For a candidate from formulation and process development workstream, experience with sterile injectable products such as complex, depot, long-acting injectables, infusions, is a plus. Experience with pilot-scale and manufacturing-scale equipment is a plus.

- In-depth understanding of physical pharmacy, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, chemical reaction kinetics, various pre-formulation and formulation studies including excipient compatibility, forced degradation studies and unit steps in formulation manufacturer is a must.

- Experience with process analytical technologies (PAT) is a plus.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

- Must possess strong documentation and technical writing skills, and able to apply relevant scientific principles and practices.

- Strong command over written and verbal English language is a must. Past publication experience is a must.

- Must be able to work under minimal supervision and able to work independently and in a team environment.

- Must be able to exercise appropriate professional judgment on matters of significance.

- Must be proficient in computer skills and software applications such as Microsoft Office tools.

- Knowledge of statistical packages is a plus.

- Must communicate clearly and concisely across levels, both orally and in writing.

OTHER JOB INFORMATION

The relocation is negotiable.

Immigration sponsorship is not available.

No remote work available.

Must be willing to work some weekends based on a relevant business need, if required.

Job Updates

NO H1B employment sponsorship.

- Due to the amount of time required with H-1B transfer petitions and other related activities, it is our preference to not provide employment sponsorship. Please request the recruiters to provide resumes of candidates who do not require employer sponsorship. Thanks.

- Please find below the difference between the two Associate Director of R&D Scientist roles.

- One position is to oversee the R&D team and activities for the Cipla New York (InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) business unit.

The other position is to oversee the R&D team and activities for the Cipla USA Exelan business unit which will also be located at the Cipla New York site.

Other info:

- Both positions will report to the SVP of R&D.

- Ph.D. is mandatory.