Position Summary
We are seeking a highly motivated Vice President, CMC Process Sciences, who will oversee the establishment and execution of CMC development plans and strategies for cell and gene therapy products in a state-of-the-art multi-product cell therapy manufacturing facility (IDMO Smart Factory) that will be utilized to manufacture autologous and allogeneic cell therapy products.
This individual will oversee CMC Operations, Process Development, Analytical Development and MS&T to develop phase appropriate processes and procedures required to support our partners through the launch, ramp-up, and production within our state-of-the-art multi-product cell therapy manufacturing facility.
This individual will be responsible for providing CMC leadership for products at various stages of development and serve in a key leadership role that will engage with internal and external stakeholders within our IDMO Business to ensure alignment with customer needs and business strategies. As such, the role will require proven leadership experience to drive effective communication, coordination, and collaboration across relevant cross functional groups to support the development, tech transfer, GMP Operations, and lifecycle management of cell and gene therapy products manufactured within our facilities.
This is a multidisciplinary role & this individual will need the ability to interface with all levels of the organization, including Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Training, Engineering/Facilities, HS&E, and Finance.
The successful candidate should enjoy working in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment, and be prepared to tackle a broad selection of challenges as the company grows.
Responsibilities
- Lead, direct, coach, and develop an effective CMC Process Sciences team, including CMC Operations, Process/Analytical Development, and MS&T, that will develop phase appropriate processes and procedures required to support our partners through the launch, ramp-up, and production within our state-of-the-art multi-product cell therapy manufacturing facility
- Provide technical and managerial leadership by effectively interfacing and collaborating with key stakeholders and functions across the organization to successfully manufacture and disposition products to patients in a timely manner
- Provide expert scientific and technical evaluation of complex process and product quality data throughout the product development and product lifecycle to our clients in the adoption of our cell therapy manufacturing technology
- Lead the identification of control strategy development requirements for cell therapy product classes (i.e., QTPP creation, risk assessments, CQA identification, specification setting, potency matrix strategy)
- Drive CMC program milestone achievement with our partners through the adoption of our cell therapy manufacturing technology, including tech transfer, process comparability, process validation, etc.
- Oversee the hiring, development, and performance management of staff within CMC Process Sciences
- Establish critical KPIs, monitor progress and keep critical stakeholders informed of progress
- Actively participate in all regulatory meetings and inspections concerning CMC development plans and strategies and facility inspections
- Work closely with other functional areas to develop and execute against the strategic plan for the manufacturing site and our facility network
- Establish key stakeholder relationships with internal and external stakeholders
Requirements
- Ph.D. degree in life sciences or equivalent work experience
- 12+ years of experience within a cGMP environment in the biotech/biopharma industry concentrated in Technical Development or Technical Operations with a minimum of 8 years leadership experience. Cell/Gene Therapy experience required
- Must be an expert within CMC Development with extensive experience with CMC process and analytical strategy and engineered T cells and gene editing technologies
- Significant experience in biologics process development or analytical characterization, especially in Cell Therapy
- Expert knowledge of process characterization and validation with consideration of current regulatory expectations, i.e. quality-by-design approach for biologics and ATMPs
- Significant knowledge of Global Regulatory requirements and standards applicable to ATMPs
- Significant knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices requirements and experience in CMC-development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products
- Must be able to manage shifting priorities to meet critical deadlines in a fast paced and dynamic, growing environment, while providing clear direction to team members
- History of developing and building cohesive, high performing teams with a strong sense of mission, providing training and mentoring to build sufficient management depth throughout the organization and ensure strong succession planning
- Strong analytical, problem solving and critical thinking skills and the ability to lead as a change agent to promote flexibility, creativity, and accountability
- Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills with ability to influence and build strong working relationships at all levels within the organization
- Experience with Operational Excellence and/or Lean Manufacturing is a plus
- Excellent organizational and communication skills
- Self-motivated and passionate about advancing the field of cell therapy
- Self-awareness, integrity, authenticity, and a growth mindset
This is Cellares
Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and takes an Industry 4.0 approach to mass manufacturing the living drugs of the 21st century. The company is both developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. The company’s Cell Shuttle integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible and high-throughput platform that delivers true walk-away, end-to-end automation. Cell Shuttles will be deployed in Cellares’ Smart Factories around the world to meet total patient demand for cell therapies at global scale. Partnering with Cellares enables academics, biotechs, and pharma companies to accelerate drug development and scale out manufacturing, lower process failure rates, lower manufacturing costs, and meet global patient demand.
The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California with its commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The company is backed by world-class investors and has raised over $355 million in financing.
What We Do
Cellares is revolutionizing cell therapy manufacturing. We are developing a one-of-a-kind solution, The Cell Shuttle, to overcome the challenges associated with manufacturing so these life-saving therapies are affordable and widely available to patients who can benefit.
The clinical impact of cell therapy in treating cancer has been proven, but this therapeutic approach has several limitations, especially in manufacturing, leaving extremely sick patients waiting for treatment and desperate for hope.
Since cell therapy is currently produced for a single patient at a time, it is expensive to manufacture, requiring significant time and resources, and is difficult to scale.
Preclinical and clinical scientists, as well as commercial cell therapy manufacturers also lack the options to fully automate their manufacturing process quickly, safely, cost-effectively and at the scale they need.
The Cell Shuttle is an automated and closed end-to-end manufacturing solution that is flexible and scalable, enabling customers to run exact processes specified for their cell therapy. Compared with the current manual manufacturing processes for cell therapy, the Cell Shuttle’s next-generation automated manufacturing solution has 10 times the scalability (meaning 10 times more patient doses can be produced simultaneously), enables a three-fold reduction in process failure rates and will reduce the per-patient manufacturing cost by up to 70 percent for most processes.
