Elgia Therapeutics, a venture-backed biopharmaceutical company, is positioned to deliver first-in-class therapies for serious chronic diseases, such as fibrosis, neuroinflammation, chronic kidney disease (CKD), lupus, inflammasome-related pathologies, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from a platform of novel targets. The Elgia team has discovered how metabolic stress drives inflammation and fibrosis and has identified untapped protein targets for small molecule drug discovery. By combining these pioneering biological insights with R&D expertise, Elgia is creating innovative, first-in-class medicines for debilitating chronic diseases. We have outstanding opportunities for motivated, energetic scientists to join our dynamic, pioneering team in San Diego. This is an excellent opportunity to learn, contribute and impact novel drug discovery efforts on an enthusiastic, dedicated, and passionate team.

Position Focus

We are seeking an experienced medicinal chemist for the Director, Medicinal Chemistry role to lead small-molecule drug discovery projects. The Director will report to the VP, Drug Discovery and will work closely with the Elgia leadership team on all aspects of project progression, from screening to IND submission.

The Medicinal Chemistry Director will serve as project leader, provide technical expertise, and offer strategic input for the Elgia drug discovery programs. The successful candidate will collaborate across other key functions (internal and external) to support the advancement of clinical candidates. The Director will apply her/his drug discovery expertise, compound design skills and leadership to deliver novel compounds for the first-in-class targets in Elgia’s portfolio.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) or equivalent in organic or medicinal chemistry with 10+ years drug discovery experience in the biopharma industry and a record of success on drug discovery projects.
• Broad background in all aspects of drug discovery and development, with knowledge of drug and ADME properties, biochemical principles, PK and pharmacology studies.
• Experience leading cross-disciplinary R&D teams with record of successful nomination of development candidates and enablement of IND studies.
• A record of application and success with structure-based drug design (SBDD), protein-ligand interactions, and conformational and structural analysis.
• Expert in data-visualization tools and database management.
• Significant scientific contributions and innovation as a medicinal chemist with expert knowledge of modern methods of synthetic and medicinal chemistry.
• Experience directing synthetic chemistry CRO activities.
• Sustained record of publications and patents.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to present results, data interpretation and biology rationale for drug discovery projects.

Elgia Therapeutics, Inc. is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under applicable federal, state, or local law.