Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq ARWR) is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep, and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Arrowhead’s RNAi-based therapeutics leverage this natural pathway of gene silencing.
Arrowhead is focused on developing innovative drugs for diseases with a genetic basis, typically characterized by the overproduction of one or more proteins that are involved with disease. The depth and versatility of our RNAi technologies enables us to potentially address conditions in virtually any therapeutic area and pursue disease targets that are not otherwise addressable by small molecules and biologics. Arrowhead is leading the field in bringing the promise of RNAi to address diseases outside of the liver, and our clinical pipeline includes disease targets in the liver and lung with a promising pipeline of preclinical candidates.
Arrowhead’s corporate headquarters is in Pasadena, CA with research and development teams in Madison, WI & San Diego, CA, and a state of the art manufacturing facility in Verona, WI. Our employees are nimble, science-driven innovators who are collaborating to bring new therapies to patients in need.
The Position
The role described herein is for a Senior Scientist to lead a team of chemists in the development of scalable manufacturing processes for oligonucleotides. The role is within the CMC Developmental Chemistry Department’s Process Development organization. Responsibilities of the position include scientific support for onsite manufacturing, design and implementation of process improvements, and development of oligonucleotide synthesis and downstream processes to support the manufacture of new therapeutic candidates and delivery platforms.
Responsibilities
- Provide technical direction to a team of associate chemists engaged in oligonucleotide process development, set project priorities, and workload allocation to meet project timelines
- Develop and optimize solid phase oligonucleotide synthesis and downstream processes including cleavage, deprotection, purification, desalting, annealing, isolation, and bioconjugation in support of new clinical candidates
- Provide technical review of batch records in support of upcoming manufacturing campaigns
- Provide scientific and technical support to internal manufacturing team, including process troubleshooting and deviation investigation
- Implement process improvements that enhance yield, purity, throughput, robustness, or safety of manufacturing existing clinical candidates
- Plan and execute laboratory-scale studies, scale-up activities, and process characterization work, ensuring experiments are well-documented and reproducible
- Collaborate with analytical development, manufacturing science and technology, quality, regulatory, and program management to align process development activities with program objectives
- Support technology transfer of newly developed processes from development into manufacturing
- Utilize analytical techniques to characterize products and product-related impurities.
- Deliver multigram scale batches of siRNA and siRNA conjugates to support nonGMP activities
- Demonstrate flexibility with changing priorities
Requirements
- PhD. with at least 4+ years, or M.S. with at least 10+ years, or B.S. with at least 12+ years of relevant industrial or academic experience, in Chemistry or related field
- Direct experience with solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis and downstream processes
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent problem-solving skills
- Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry and relevant analytical technology
Preferred
- Familiarity with process scale-up, technology transfer, and the translation of laboratory-scale chemistry into robust, cGMP-compliant manufacturing processes
- Experience with Cytiva instrumentation and Unicorn software; particularly OP100, Oligosynt, and Avant
- Familiarity with cGMP and regulatory requirements
- Experience with oligonucleotide conjugation chemistry
Arrowhead provides competitive salaries and an excellent benefit package.
Candidates must have current, valid authorization to work in the country where this role is located.
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Skills Required
- PhD with 4+ years, MS with 10+ years, or BS with 12+ years in Chemistry or related field
- Direct experience with solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis and downstream processes
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent problem-solving skills
- Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry and relevant analytical technology
- Familiarity with process scale-up, technology transfer, and translation to cGMP-compliant manufacturing
- Experience with Cytiva instrumentation (OP100, Oligosynt, Avant) and Unicorn software
- Familiarity with cGMP and regulatory requirements
- Experience with oligonucleotide conjugation chemistry
What We Do
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage, Nasdaq listed (ticker ARWR) company developing medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, our therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Our RNAi-based therapeutics are at the leading edge of genetic-based therapy with the potential to bring life changing treatments for patients. Our Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiMTM) platform utilizes ligand-mediated delivery and is designed to enable tissue-specific targeting while being structurally simple. The TRiM platform builds on more than a decade of work on actively targeted drug delivery and offers several advantages including simplified manufacturing and reduced costs; multiple routes of administration; and potential for improved safety. Our employees are nimble, science-driven, and innovative professionals. A career at Arrowhead offers the opportunity to collaborate with top notch scientists to rapidly discover and develop RNAi-based therapeutics to add to our growing pipeline. Research and development activities are located in Madison, WI. Our R&D group includes fully-integrated capabilities for chemistry, biology, and toxicology. Madison is an exciting and sophisticated city that includes state government, the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin, and major research organizations. Our HQ, clinical and regulatory operations are located in Pasadena, CA. Just north of Los Angeles and resting in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Pasadena is known for its natural scenic beauty, vibrant cultural and academic environment and rich architectural setting.
