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Scientist, Preclinical Development

Somerset, New Jersey, United States

Company Information

Legend Biotech is a global biotechnology company dedicated to treating, and one day curing, life-threatening diseases. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, we are developing advanced cell therapies across a diverse array of technology platforms, including autologous and allogenic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy. 

Legend Biotech entered into a global collaboration agreement with Janssen, one of the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, to jointly develop and commercialize ciltacabtagene autolecuel (cilta-cel) in 2017. Our strategic partnership is designed to combine the strengths and expertise of both companies to advance the promise of an immunotherapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Legend Biotech is seeking Scientist, Preclinical Development as part of the Early Drug Discovery (EDD) team based in Somerset, NJ. 

Role Overview

As a part of Legend Biotech’s Early Drug Discovery (EDD) department, the preclinical scientist will perform IND-enabling pharmacology and toxicology studies to support pipeline programs. The ideal candidate will have experience in immunology or immune-oncology to assist preclinical cell therapy studies from discovery to first-in-human trials, and through marketing authorization. Furthermore, the successful candidate will work in a collaborative environment, and would be skillful in driving multiple projects by contributing to the development of cell-based immunotherapies.

Key Responsibilities  

  • Develop and validate assays to support diverse projects from lead optimization to the conduct of preclinical pharmacology and toxicology studies for regulatory submission.
  • Culture human primary cell lines and cryopreserve them to create robust working cell banks for use in future in vitro studies.
  • Design, optimize, and execute in vitro and in vivo IND-enabling studies.
  • Create, review, and approve prospective standard operating procedures for in vitro and in vivo IND-enabling studies.
  • Record all experiments in an electronic laboratory notebook, report deviations, conduct data analysis, and results in a final study report.
  • Design and support animal studies to assess efficacy and safety of cell therapies.

Requirements

  • BS or MS with two years previous laboratory experience
  • Work experience in immunology, cancer biology or related fields
  • Knowledge and expertise in immuno-oncology of large molecules or cell therapy is a plus
  • Strong scientific background with hands on experience in cellular and molecular biology techniques (e.g., flow cytometry, ELISA, cell culture and cytotoxicity assays, qPCR, Western Blot and others
  • Demonstrated track record of scientific contributions in peer-reviewed journals and symposia
  • Ability to manage multiple programs in parallel while delivering on key milestones
  • Knowledge of GLP and regulatory agencies is a plus
  • Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, highly collaborative diverse team environment
  • In vivo and in vitro studies, flow cytometry, ELISA, tissue culture/primary cell culture, cytotoxicity assays, qPCR, Western Blot, and multiplexed cytokine analysis assays (MSD and Luminex)
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English (and Chinese is a plus)

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Legend Biotech is a proud equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to attracting, retaining, and maximizing the performance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is Legend’s policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Legend Biotech maintains a drug-free workplace.

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