Scientist, Biomarker Development - Acrivon Therapeutics

Acrivon is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision oncology medicines that it matches to patients whose tumors are predicted to be sensitive to each specific medicine by utilizing Acrivon’s proprietary proteomics-based patient responder identification platform, Acrivon Predictive Precision Proteomics, or AP3. The AP3 platform is engineered to measure compound-specific effects on the entire tumor cell protein signaling network and drug-induced resistance mechanisms in an unbiased manner. These distinctive capabilities enable AP3’s direct application for drug design optimization for monotherapy activity, the identification of rational drug combinations, and the creation of drug-specific proprietary OncoSignature companion diagnostics that are used to identify the patients most likely to benefit from Acrivon’s drug candidates.

Acrivon is currently advancing its lead candidate, ACR-368 (also known as prexasertib), a selective small molecule inhibitor targeting CHK1 and CHK2 in a potentially registrational Phase 2 trial across multiple tumor types. The company has received Fast Track designation from the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for the investigation of ACR-368 as monotherapy based on OncoSignature-predicted sensitivity in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian or endometrial cancer. Acrivon’s ACR-368 OncoSignature test, which has not yet obtained regulatory approval, has been extensively evaluated in preclinical studies, including in two separate, blinded, prospectively-designed studies on pretreatment tumor biopsies collected from past third-party Phase 2 trials in patients with ovarian cancer treated with ACR-368. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Device designation for the ACR-368 OncoSignature assay for the identification of ovarian cancer patients who may benefit from ACR-368 treatment. In addition to ACR-368, Acrivon is also leveraging its proprietary AP3 precision medicine platform for developing its co-crystallography-driven, internally discovered preclinical stage pipeline programs. These include ACR-2316, a potent, selective WEE1/PKMYT1 inhibitor designed for superior single-agent activity as demonstrated in preclinical studies against benchmark inhibitors, and a cell cycle program with an undisclosed target.

Our global team operates out of two leading life science clusters, Watertown, MA and Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden.

Position Overview:

The Scientist will be a key member of Acrivon Therapeutics’ Biomarker Development Team and will provide hands-on support in laboratory studies with a focus on biomarker discovery and translational research in the oncology area. Working independently and collaboratively as a member of a cross functional team, the candidate will have ample opportunity to grow and contribute to the understanding of mechanisms of action/resistance to drugs. The candidate will actively participate in characterizing and evaluating predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers for patient selection identified using Acrivon’s proprietary Acrivon Predictive Precision Proteomics (AP3) platform.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Biomarker Development and will be located at our US headquarters in Watertown, MA.

.Duties and Responsibilities:

• Participate in various aspects of drug tailored biomarker discovery, selection and screening processes leading to assay development for cancer patient selection for treatment.
• Participate in translational research studies to interpret and rationalize clinical observations and screening and validate biomarker expression using archival and patients’ cancer tissue samples, as well as cells and tissues from in vitro and in vivo
• Contribute as a member of a diverse and motivated team of researchers across Oncology disciplines and key internal and external collaborators.
• Read and critically evaluate literature to keep abreast of scientific and technological advances.
• Lead or contribute to scientific publications.

Requirements and Qualifications

• PhD in cell biology, cancer biology or other related scientific discipline with at least 1-2 years of relevant experience in academia or industry.
• Strong experimental background and experience in hypothesis-driven translational research with demonstrated ability to design and execute experiments in translational research/Biomarker development.
• Analysis and interpretation of Biomarker data in both preclinical and clinical setting and knowledge of biomarker development, clinical discovery and translational research is desirable.
• Experience in Brightfield, fluorescence microscopy, and image analysis techniques for assay development
• Demonstrated expertise in in vitro/ex vivo assay development and optimization.
• Excellent collaboration, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with internal and external high achieving team environments.
• Proven ability to integrate complex scientific ideas, create and test hypotheses. Ability to troubleshoot effectively and constructively implement solutions within broader teams.
• Candidates with a proven track record of quality research and deep scientific knowledge as evidenced by high impact, peer reviewed publications highly preferred.
• Must be able to work independently and effectively on multiple programs in a fast-paced environment.

Acrivon Therapeutics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and to provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or gender identity, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Acrivon Therapeutics complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.