Scientist / Research Scientist – Pharmacology (18 month Fixed Term Contract)

Scientist / Research Scientist – Pharmacology (18 month Fixed Term Contract)

Location: Granta Park, Cambridge.

Nxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares) is a technology powered biopharma company, in pursuit of new speciality medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs globally.

Nxera employs over 350 talented people at key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea) and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565).

In addition to several products being commercialized in Japan, we are advancing an extensive pipeline of over 30 active programs from discovery through to late clinical stage internally and in partnership with leading pharma and biotech companies including Lilly, GSK, AbbVie, Verily, Neurocrine, Takeda, Genentech/Roche, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medicxi, Aditum Bio.

This pipeline is focused on addressing major unmet needs in some of the fastest-growing areas of medicine across CNS, GI and immunology, metabolic disorders and rare diseases, and leverages the power of our unique and industry leading GPCR-targeted structure-based drug discovery “NxWave” platform to provide a sustainable source of best- or first-in-class candidates.

In Cambridge UK, we have built outstanding capabilities across our platform, discovery and translational medicine teams, to advance multiple programs from pre-clinical through to early clinical development.

In Tokyo, our expert teams are dedicated to late-stage development (Ph 2/3) and innovative commercialization/ go-to-market approaches.

Our Mission

To accelerate the development of life-changing medicines, by investing in science and technology

Our Vision

To lead the next era of medicine. From Japan, for Japan, and the world.

Our Values

• Patients, carers, families, and physicians come first
• Innovation and teamwork inspire success
• Focus on top priorities where we can make a difference
• Speed and agility of decision-making
• Operational excellence

We are passionate about improving the quality of life and health of people around the world and believe we can achieve our mission through providing a supportive, motivational, and empowering environment for employees.

We are proud to offer a collaborative, diverse and inclusive working environment that considers your individual needs and believes in maintaining a sustainable work-life balance.

You will be welcomed by a team of colleagues with decades of accumulated experience in their areas of expertise, happy to help you develop your own skills in a highly collaborative environment and who are keen to provide guidance and support in your personal and career development plans.

For more information, please visit:- www.nxera.life

Scientist / Research Scientist – Pharmacology (18 month Fixed Term Contract)

We have an exciting career opportunity for a Scientist or Research Scientist within the Pharmacology group based in Cambridge-UK. We are seeking to recruit a highly motivated laboratory-based scientist with a keen interest in supporting GPCR drug discovery.

The Pharmacology team is responsible for both new drug target validation and supporting all drug discovery phases up to pre-clinical candidate (PCC) selection, developing and performing assays to study pathological characteristics of GPCRs in disease.

The available position will primarily involve working in a matrix team environment to develop in vitro assays and test small/large molecules routinely to support Drug Discovery. A successful candidate will likely represent the department as the lead pharmacologist for a Discovery program (depending on experience). In addition, you may be expected to set up and run more complex mechanism of action studies in native cellular systems and supporting target engagement/biomarker discovery.

This position would suit those who are looking to develop their laboratory skills in a fast-paced biotech environment and learn about the drug discovery process through exposure to both internal and partnered programs. We pride ourselves in supporting personal development and providing opportunities in cross-discipline team work and project mentorship in order to produce the next generation of scientific leaders.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Generate and maintain cell cultures from immortalised cell lines and primary cells
• Develop cell-based assays for small/large molecule screening.
• Work within multi-disciplinary teams to support hit identification through to lead optimisation discovery and drive structure-activity relationships (SAR)
• Communicate findings to project terms both internal and within collaborations
• Generate and follow detailed standard operating protocols (SOPs)
• Interpret data, define timelines for studies and meet delivery deadlines for high impact work plans
• Use electronic lab note books and databases such as Dotmatics to meet data integrity requirements
• Conduct mechanism of action studies to elucidate the mode of ligand interaction in a cellular context
• Utilise automation to facilitate assay development and screening

Requirements:

• An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Pharmacology, Biochemistry or related discipline or relevant industrial experience
• Exposure / relevant experience within at least one of Nxera’s key therapeutic areas of interest (Neuroscience, Metabolism, Gastro-Intestinal disease or immunology)
• Practical laboratory experience (such as mammalian cell culture, experience in cell-based or biochemical assays).
• Strong numerical and analytical ability.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and demonstrated capability to operate in a collaborative and entrepreneurial environment.

• Ability to work independently

• Attention to detail

Desirable but not essential:

• Previous experience working with GPCRs.

• Experience with a range of cell-based assays and technologies (such as cAMP, calcium, ELISA, , HTRF, cell-based imaging, flow cytometry, radioligand or fluorescent ligand binding)

• Familiarity with electronic lab notebooks

• Knowledge of the drug discovery process and requirements for project progression.

• Previous experience using automation (such as automatic liquid handlers).

• Experience in recombinant and primary cell signalling.

Other information

What’s in it for you?

• State-of-the-art R&D centre located in the heart of the Cambridge science cluster· Competitive compensation package including discretionary cash bonuses
• Eligible for grants of Restricted Stock Units
• 26 days annual leave in addition to public holidays plus the option to purchase an additional 5 days each year
• Employer contribution to pension
• Private Medical Insurance for employees and family and a cash plan for dental and optical reimbursement
• Health and wellbeing benefits including a subsidised individual gym membership
• Income protection to cover long term absences due to ill health
• Group Death in Service equal to 4x basic annual salary

At Nxera Pharma, we are passionate about delivering life-changing medicines to patients. We foster an open and welcoming environment where everyone can bring their authentic self to work, harnessing our individual strengths to succeed together.

We value our culture rooted in a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds, and abilities, with a deep sense of belonging. For us, inclusiveness is a reflex, not an initiative.

We are achieving this through a consistent commitment to fairness, equal opportunity, and equity.

Applications should include a CV and covering letter, providing a short description of the background of your interest in the role,

Please apply to: Greg Osborne – Senior Director – Pharmacology (Greg.Osborne@nxera.life)