Vice President, Head of Biology

Company Summary 

FL89, Inc. is a privately held early-stage company investigating secreted protein function and regulation in human physiology by combining a newly developed high throughput -omics platform with cutting edge cellular biology approaches and machine learning. Our mission is to leverage natural evolution to understand drivers and early biomarkers in the secretome which underlie chronic disease and develop next generation of therapeutics with increased potency & specificity.

One of FL89’s founding principles is to build an inclusive and exciting working environment that fosters personal and professional growth by ensuring that all team members contribute to and feel ownership of our scientific vision.

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture. 

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Position Summary:

We are seeking a Head of Biology with a strong track record of leading projects from early discovery to development candidates: The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to develop effective strategies and execution plans to advance early molecules through preclinical development to ensure emerging assets exhibit strong differentiation and possibility of success. They should have an excellent understanding of the landscape of immune-mediated diseases to help build a diversified pipeline. Additionally, this role will require candidates to have insight into the latest innovations and molecules in clinical development to enable development of target and candidate drug profiles relevant to the evolving disease landscape. The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic, goal-driven individual who is willing to roll up their sleeves and participate as a strategic leader while fostering a culture of executional excellence.

Key responsibilities will include: growing and developing the existing team, demonstrating excellent communication skills, implementing proven strategic and people leadership skills, collaborating closely with the leadership team and other R&D leaders, and guiding the pharmacology team to achieve the company’s objectives 

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop scientific and technical strategy to advance multiple projects in the pipeline.
• Manage and mentor a team of scientists, ensuring leadership and oversight for development and implementation of in vitro assays as well as for in vivo preclinical efficacy, safety and PK/PD studies.
• Hands on contributions to the design, direction, execution, and analysis of pharmacological studies to screen novel proteins and advance candidates along the developmental pipeline
• Integrate data to provide a detailed understanding of the pharmacology of therapeutic proteins to be enable understanding of in vitro MOAs and in vivo correlates of efficacy
• Identify, initiate, and manage productive collaborations with CROs and academic labs as appropriate to driving projects forward.
• Proactively recognize and develop creative solutions for emerging technical and scientific issues
• Design GLP studies to determine safety/tox and build the preclinical data package for clinical candidate nomination.
• Contribute to building a positive, team-oriented biotech culture.

Qualifications:

• PhD in pharmacology or biological disciplines such as immunology, cellular biology, oncology, or biochemistry, with 10+ years direct pharmaceutical experience beyond postdoctoral work
• A track record in using in driving projects along the developmental pipeline.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams to drive go/no go decisions
• Excellent project management skills and the ability to effectively manage CROs and to facilitate interactions with academic labs and companies to ensure project progression.
• Direct experience in supporting IND strategy and documentation, including writing relevant pharmacology sections of INDs.
• Flexibility to dynamical adapt workplans and lead teams through changing priorities and deadlines.
• A pioneering mindset to grow a startup venture
• Prior experience working in smaller companies is highly preferred

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.