Associate Director, Production and Purification, Antibody and ADC Sciences

Company Overview

Immunome is a clinical-stage targeted oncology company committed to developing first- and best-in-class targeted therapies designed to improve outcomes for cancer patients. We are advancing an innovative portfolio of therapeutics, drawing on leadership that previously played key roles in the design, development, and commercialization of cutting-edge targeted cancer therapies, including antibody-drug conjugate therapies (ADCs.) Our most advanced pipeline programs are varegacestat (formerly AL102), a gamma secretase inhibitor which is currently in a Phase 3 trial for treatment of desmoid tumors, IM-1021, a ROR1 ADC with an active IND, and IM-3050, a FAP-targeted radioligand, which is the subject of an IND expected to be submitted in the first quarter of 2025. Our pipeline also includes IM-1617, IM-1335, and IM-1340, all of which are preclinical ADCs pursuing undisclosed targets with expression in multiple solid tumors.

Position Overview

The Associate Director will lead the protein production and purification teams to support research portfolio of target validation, therapeutic discovery, and development candidate selection. The incumbent will have deep experience with mammalian hosts and systems used for antibody generation and production for research pipeline projects. This person will apply deep knowledge of protein structure and industry standard purification processes to guide, strategize, and prioritize projects to support research scale (96 well and mid-scale) to exploratory tox production requests. Using experience in accelerated drug discovery processes for biologics, this person will provide support and direction to the team, ensure quality, and manage competing priorities. This person will also be responsible for overseeing some outsourcing, and communication across research functions and tech ops to ensure timely updates as needed. You will foster a continuous improvement mentality to drive projects forward and balance speed with quality and industry standards processes.

Responsibilities

• Apply deep scientific knowledge of protein production, and methodologies to deliver on antibody drug conjugates pipeline in collaboration with antibody science and ADC bioconjugation teams.
• Establish high throughput, and mid-scale production capabilities with the knowledge of both transient and stable cell line hosts.
• Serve as the liaison for interactions with tech ops (CMC) to transfer product quality information.
• Stay up to date on advances in expression vectors, and purification methodologies to ensure continued improvement in expression, and production processes.
• Identify external collaborations to support research goals and meet portfolio demands with outsourcing as needed.
• Integrate analytical characterization data to optimize biologics production.
• Ensure clear communication with project leaders, tech ops, antibody engineering, and bioconjugation groups.
• Develop team and enhance their skillsets.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s in biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, or other related life science field.
• A minimum of 7 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. Previous leadership experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in various scales of protein purifications preferably in high throughput automated processes to mid-scale productions.
• Training in classical protein production and purification processes such as size exclusion (SEC) using AKTA, affinity capture, and ion exchange chromatography (IEC).
• Expert knowledge of protein science analytics for QC, and specs (sequence, structure,, mass-spec, PTM analysis, FPLC, HPLC, etc.)

Knowledge and Skills

• Experienced with CHO and HEK293 hosts for transient and stable cell line production.
• Skilled in collaborations with cross-functional partners.
• Creative in remodeling capacity to meet portfolio needs.
• Trained in Genedata, Benchling or related tools for good record keeping practices.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience of a project co-lead for a biologic discovery program is a plus.
• Experience in drafting reports and data analysis for process transfer.
• Experienced in presenting concise info to senior team leaders.
• Experienced in high throughput, mid-scale, and large-scale purifications.
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills.

E/E/O

Immunome, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.