Director, Translational Sciences – Neuroscience

Arvinas is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases through the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies that degrade disease-causing proteins. Arvinas uses its proprietary PROTAC® Discovery Engine platform to engineer proteolysis targeting chimeras, or PROTAC® targeted protein degraders, that are designed to harness the body’s own natural protein disposal system to selectively and efficiently degrade and remove disease-causing proteins.

In addition to its robust preclinical pipeline of PROTAC protein degraders against validated and “undruggable” targets, the company has three investigational clinical-stage programs currently enrolling: vepdegestrant for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer; ARV-102 for the treatment of patients with neurodegenerative disorders, and ARV-393 for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and potentially other lymphomas.

In April 2024, Arvinas entered into a transaction with Novartis, including a global license agreement for the development and commercialization of the clinical stage PROTAC® androgen receptor protein degrader ARV-766 for the treatment of prostate cancer. The transaction closed in May 2024.

#TeamArvinas is made up of approximately 450 passionate and curious employees, whose diverse thoughts and perspectives are highly valued. Arvinas employees embrace the freedom to pursue innovation, think creatively, and give back. They are driven by the company’s values and mission – to improve the lives of patients with serious diseases by pioneering therapies created with our revolutionary PROTAC® protein degradation platform. We’re really excited about the work we’re doing inside and outside of Arvinas, and think you will be, too. But don’t just take our word for it – learn more about life at Arvinas and what employees have to say.

For more information, please visit www.arvinas.com. 

Position Summary

Arvinas is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Director, Translational Sciences – Neuroscience to drive the translational, clinical biomarker development and clinical imaging strategies to support our neuroscience portfolio. The ideal candidate is a strong scientific leader and a self-starter with extensive experience in leading translational strategies in neuroscience drug development. 

This role reports to the VP, Translational Sciences and can be located at our headquarters in New Haven, CT or work with a hybrid or remote work arrangement from a location within the U.S.

Principal Responsibilities

Key responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborates cross-functionally with Discovery, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Clinical Pharm, Regulatory, and other functions to support clinical program objectives.
• Develops and implements translational, clinical biomarker development and clinical imaging strategies in clinical trials to support Arvinas neuroscience portfolio.
• Manages the translational budget for the neuroscience portfolio.
• Monitors execution and ensures timely fit-for-purpose pharmacodynamic/exploratory biomarker assay development and validation in partnership with external CROs and internal laboratory teams to support multi-site clinical trials for tauopathies, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
• Leads the due diligence efforts on new biomarker technologies, vendor assessment/ selection to enable high quality biomarker analysis.
• Manages and coaches the direct report to perform as the Translational Sciences Lead to support Arvinas neuroscience clinical programs.
• Leads clinical biomarker subteams and collaborates cross-functionally to align on translational fluid and tissue biomarker strategy and digital biomarker solutions.
• Assures effective delivery of biomarker data to support decision making in clinical studies and neuroscience portfolio progression.
• Contributes to the clinical imaging strategy and execution, including PET, MRI, and other advanced neuroimaging modalities in collaboration with imaging CROs and internal teams to implement imaging readouts in clinical trials. Ensures neuroimaging endpoints are optimized for decision-making in early and late-stage clinical trials. Provides scientific leadership on imaging data interpretation
• Participates in the planning, writing, and review of biomarker and clinical imaging related sections for Clinical Trial Protocols, Clinical Study Reports, Investigatory Brochures, Biomarker Study Reports, manuscripts/abstracts, and regulatory submissions from IND to NDA.
• Influences and collaborates with Discovery teams to align preclinical strategies with clinical needs and de-risk clinical development.

 Qualifications

• 6+ years of translational neuroscience drug development in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry that reflects demonstrated experience in the skills and competencies required of the role to work independently and assume full accountability for the functional area.
• A track record in leading translational strategies across multiple stages of clinical development, from IND to NDA / BLA, and global filing experience strongly preferred.
• Clinical biomarker development such as fluid and tissue biomarker and digital biomarker solutions, and clinical implementation in neuroscience therapeutic area. Experience with patient stratification and selection strategy in clinical implementation is a plus.
• Deep understanding of various biomarker technologies, experience with assay development and validation, operational aspects and relevant regulatory guidelines.
• Experience with neuroimaging modalities, including PET, MRI, and molecular imaging techniques.
• Demonstrated success in working on a cross-disciplinary, drug development project team, fostering collaboration and driving shared objectives.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills; ability to work independently as well as collaboratively, preferably experienced in navigating and influencing in highly complex and matrixed environments.
• Arvinas will not be providing VISA sponsorship for this position. You must have the ability to work without a need for a current or future VISA sponsorship.
• The duties of this role are generally conducted in a combination of lab and home office environments. Employees must be able, with or without an accommodation to lift/carry 15/30 pounds unassisted/assisted; work comfortable in a controlled environment with and around biological, infectious and hazardous materials; gown/degown PPE; use a computer; engage in communications via phone, video, and electronic messaging; engage in problem solving, analysis and dialogue; collaborate with others; maintain general availability during standard business hours.

Education 

• Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, or a related life science field.

#LI-Remote

Arvinas is proud to offer a competitive package of base and incentive compensation as well as a comprehensive benefits program designed to support the health, wellness and financial security of our employees and their families. Benefits include group medical, vision and dental coverage, group and supplemental life insurance, and much more. To learn more about Arvinas, please visit www.arvinas.com

Arvinas is an Equal Opportunity employer