Circle Pharma is a dynamic biotech company advancing the discovery and development of cell-permeable oral macrocycles. Our platform combines structure-based drug design and advanced synthetic chemistry to create first-in-class macrocycle therapeutics for severe unmet clinical needs. We are focusing our development efforts on cyclins, which are master regulators of the machinery that controls progression of cells through the cell cycle and are key drivers in many cancers.
We seek passionate individuals poised to drive our growth and make a difference. Learn more about Circle Pharma at www.circlepharma.com
Synthesize, purify, and track target molecules at Circle Pharma. Contribute to our drug discovery efforts using synthetic organic chemistry. Synthesize, purify, and characterize synthetic intermediates on milligram-to-hundred-gram scale. Collaborate with CRO (contractor research organization) to optimize scale-up synthesis for building blocks and GMP APIs. Analyze results, generate reports, and communicate findings to the Chemistry Team on a regular basis. Work alongside the Chemistry Team to develop new synthetic methodologies while also maintaining accurate and up to date electronic notebook documentation of laboratory activities. Independently operate and oversee maintenance of selected lab equipment. Problem solve approaches to a given compound using organic synthesis and reaction mechanisms.
Education Required: Master’s degree or foreign equivalent in Medicinal Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or related field
Experience Required 1 year of experience as a Process Chemist, Medicinal Chemist, or related occupation
Special Requirements:
Must have at least 1 year of prior work experience in each of the following:
1. Performing and optimizing synthetic organic transformations from mg to kilo-grams scale, based on literature procedures, including organometallic cross-couplings, air/water sensitive reactions, asymmetric synthesis, and peptide couplings.
2. Drafting technique procedure package, Design of Experiments (DOE) and protocols for CRO or CDMO.
3. Using laboratory equipment including NMR, LC-MS, GC and HPLC to analyze final compounds and intermediates.
4. Purifying and separating final compounds using distillation, flash chromatography, and recrystallization from mg to kilo-grams scale.
5. Using contemporary software (ChemDraw, MestReNova, chemical inventory systems, and scientific search engines) to analyze data, generate reports/presentations, and operate in the lab.
6. Synthesizing, designing, and screening compounds for medicinal chemistry projects.
7. Manufacturing and developing synthetic routes for GMP and API synthesis in kilo lab.
Circle Pharma recognizes that the success of our endeavors depends on the success of every team member. Your well-being is our top priority, and we are proud to offer a comprehensive total rewards package. Our benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, and vision care. We also provide a 401(k) plan with a generous company contribution, and all of our offers contain a stock option component. We provide company-paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability. Additionally, we provide many company-paid holidays, including a winter break at the close of the calendar year.
Circle Pharma is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workplace. All applicants will be considered equally without regard to race, color, ethnicity, veteran status, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, membership in an organization or any other non-merit factors.
Top Skills
What We Do
Circle Pharma initiated operations in June 2014 with seed funding from Pfizer, Inc. and Mission Bay Capital, LLP; we received additional seed funding from ShangPharma Investment Group Limited in November 2015. We recently raised Series B and Series C financing from The Column Group and NextTech Invest.
We design and develop bioavailable macrocyclic peptide therapeutics against important clinical targets. We do this by applying a computational structure-based design approach that combines physics (conformational modeling), chemistry (innovative molecular components) and biology (protein target structure and function). We have selected intracellular protein-protein interactions that play key roles in cancer as the initial target group for our internal pipeline development.
Circle is taking a new approach to the development of macrocylic peptide therapeutics that is based on the pioneering work of its founders to understand and computationally predict drug-like properties of macrocycles. Circle is advancing this understanding to design novel, inherently permeable macrocyclic peptide drug candidates against Circle’s internal targets and those of our collaboration partners.
Our workflow includes the use of proprietary algorithms to design large, conformationally diverse, virtual libraries of cell permeable macrocyclic scaffolds that incorporate natural and non-natural backbone components. We deploy these virtual scaffold libraries in subsequent design steps that include the incorporation of functional side chains selected for both target binding and maintenance of permeability. Candidate compounds are synthesized and tested for both permeability and target affinity and the results are used to inform subsequent design cycles.
