Vice President, Neuroscience Pharmacology and Translational Biomarkers - Arvinas Inc.

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.

The company is progressing multiple investigational drugs through clinical development programs, including vepdegestrant, targeting the estrogen receptor for patients with locally advanced or metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer; ARV-102, targeting LRRK2 for neurodegenerative disorders; and ARV-393, targeting BCL6 for relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

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.

Position Summary

The Vice President  of Neuroscience Pharmacology and Translational Biomarkers is responsible for enterprise leadership of  all aspects of driving the neuroscience portfolio. This includes managing exploratory new target selection, generation of in vitro and in vivo data used to develop pharmacokinetic / pharmacodynamic relationships, and the identification of translational biomarkers to support lead optimization and clinical development of PROTAC degrader molecules for severe neurologic disorders. 

This position reports to the Chief Scientific Officer and will be located at our headquarters in New Haven, CT.

Principal Responsibilities

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

• Defines, revises and champions asset discovery and development strategies while implementing plans to support prioritization and expeditious progression of the neuroscience portfolio.
• Builds, leads and inspires a high-performing team through mentorship and development of leadership, scientific and technical capabilities.
• Enables team to make critical choices in identifying and developing appropriate preclinical in vivo models to support lead identification and optimization based on a deep understanding of disease and target biology, downstream pathways, and target-dependent functional endpoints. Guides team of scientists to build high-quality reliable ex vivo target engagement assays, pathway biology assays, and disease biomarker assays to support preclinical pharmacology studies.
• Contributes to the design and data analysis strategy of preclinical pharmacology studies to characterize compound activity and establish pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships to drive compound optimization and inform human dose projections.
• Owns and develops the early clinical biomarker strategy across the neuroscience portfolio.
• Manages the team to develop and execute high quality robust qualified assays to quantify translational biomarkers for targets for tauopathies, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
• Identifies and manages collaborations with contract research organizations and academic labs for the transfer of translational biomarker assays, method development, validation, and clinical execution.
• Serves as key contributor to preclinical study reports and documents to support Regulatory (IND/ CTA) filings, Investigator Brochures, and clinical study protocols and lab manuals.
• Works effectively with cross-functional program and development teams to lead programs and strategically progress the pipeline (this includes Go/ No Go decisions based on quality data from in vivo pharmacology or biomarker-based studies)
• Mentors leaders, develops staff, and promotes culture of collaboration and teamwork.

Qualifications

• Established scientific reputation with strong knowledge of statistics in the assessment of disease-relevant in vivo models and biomarker endpoints to support neurodegeneration research and development efforts as evidenced by strong publication record, and relationships with key opinion leaders. 
• Strong leadership experience in initiating xternal science, collaborations, and relationships with academic research teams, CROs, and patient advocacy groups. 
• Demonstrated expertise in, and leader of a team responsible for, in vivo pharmacology in preclinical models and translational human biomarkers using clinical samples.  
• Examples of contributions to exploratory neuroscience target selection and demonstrated ability to use in vitro pharmacology data to drive program decisions and portfolio build. 
• Clear track record of authoring relevant sections of IND/ CTA documents and contributions to clinical protocol design. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead directly and cross-functionally; recruit, mentor, develop, and motivate a team of creative, experienced scientists to deliver program / portfolio decisions. 
• Communicates effectively with leadership, employees, colleagues, leadership teams, and the broader external neuroscience community as evidenced by publications, presentations, inventions, and contributions to regulatory filings for clinical candidates. 
• Confident self-starter with a strong work ethic, who holds self and others accountable in the context of greater portfolio deliverables. 

Education 

• Ph.D., with 15+ years of industry/ biotech leadership experience in neurobiology and pharmacology with clear contributions to clinical candidates.

#LI-New Haven, CT

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