Job details

External Innovation Manager

At Eisai, satisfying unmet medical needs and increasing the benefits healthcare provides to patients, their families, and caregivers is Eisai’s human health care (hhc) mission. We’re a growing pharmaceutical company that is breaking through in neurology and oncology, with a strong emphasis on research and development. Our history includes the development of many innovative medicines, notably the discovery of the world's most widely-used treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. As we continue to expand, we are seeking highly-motivated individuals who want to work in a fast-paced environment and make a difference. If this is your profile, we want to hear from you.

Eisai has been dedicated for decades to the pursuit of novel therapeutics to improve the lives of people suffering from dementia and their families. Recognizing the potential for human genetics, data sciences and precision chemistry to disrupt the drug discovery paradigm, Eisai launched the Eisai Center for Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2) in 2019 to accelerate the discovery of innovative therapeutics. G2D2 is a unique drug discovery organization driven by a diverse group of passionate, dedicated and collaborative scientists committed to one goal: delivering breakthroughs for patients and their families. All Eisai employees, as part of the company’s human health care (hhc) mission, spend at least 1% of their working time with patients and families to ensure that the innovation we drive is based on an understanding of their real needs.

A historical strength of G2D2, driven by insights from human genetics, is immunodementia: targeting immune-related targets for dementia. Expanding from this strength to additional themes in the biology of neurodegenerative disorders, we focus not only on how human genetics and other human biology data may identify and validate therapeutic targets with increased likelihood of success in clinical trials, but also how this data guides selection of the best approaches to design new therapeutics and deliver them to the right patient at the right time. Recognizing the obvious alignment between human genetics and nucleic acid modalities, our precision chemistry strategy is to validate human biology hypotheses by utilizing our unique RNA-targeting therapeutic platform. G2D2’s expertise in harnessing molecular complexity (stereochemistry and topology) to successfully discover and develop natural product based therapeutics has been applied to create an evolving unique nucleic acid therapeutic platform that is being employed globally in multiple clinical and pre-clinical programs at Eisai.

G2D2’s cutting-edge 50,000-square-foot facility is strategically located in Cambridge, MA, to accelerate collaborations with leading research institutes in this world-class biotech hub. Our facility is designed around an open-lab concept, enabling scientists with multi-disciplinary backgrounds to work together in a single integrated lab space. Our labs include state-of-the-art capabilities that support the variety of disciplines located at the site, including medicinal and process chemistry, in-vitro and in-vivo biology, microscopy, DMPK, drug safety, chemical and structural biology, automation and screening, and more. G2D2 is home to Eisai’s global capabilities in neurology discovery data science as well as other global Eisai functions, including global health, DMPK, Safety, and IP, thus providing a rich environment for cross-functional interaction. Our office is designed to foster an atmosphere of mission-driven and collaborative science, using new collaboration tools and technologies, and is being optimized to support a hybrid work environment.

At Eisai, we highly value both internal and external collaboration and pursue flexible research models with a range of external scientific partners to accelerate delivery of innovative medicines. To this end, the G2D2 facility includes the Eisai Innovation Center Biolabs, which provides space and infrastructure to start-up/spin-out companies conducting high-risk but potentially transformative research that can impact the discovery of breakthrough neuroscience therapeutics.

More information about G2D2 is provided here (http://eisai.mediaroom.com/2018-06-12-Eisai-Inc-to-Launch-Center-for-Genetics-Guided-Dementia-Discovery-in-Cambridge-Massachusetts) and here (https://us.eisai.com/research/g2d2), and about Eisai's Neurology strategy and pipeline are provided here (https://www.eisai.com/index.html).

Job Summary:

We are seeking an External Innovation Manager (EIM) to join the Collaborations team. This role includes the search and evaluation of novel collaborations from Industry and Academia as well as supporting the maintenance of current collaborations. This role's main responsibilities will be 1) finding novel technologies to support Eisai’s internal programs, 2) supporting the evaluation of new potential collaborations (such as providing market landscapes for search and evaluation), 3) supporting the maintenance of current collaborations. Finally, the EIM will work with the Eisai Innovation Center BioLabs which is the incubator where Eisai works with BioLabs to host novel start-ups.

Primary Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will focus on the business side of science – working on the following:

Execute search and evaluation of novel therapeutics and/or platforms
Develop market landscapes of novel technologies to find start-ups with these technologies and academic experts of these novel technologies
Facilitates project execution and meetings
Set goals, provide feedback, mentor and coach team members
Manage current collaborations such as assisting with alliance governance, ensuring periodic meeting with internal and external partners including presentations and minutes with outcomes and next steps. Ensure that these meetings occur according to agreement with contractual terms. Ensure that documents, records and decisions are retained as needed.
Manage and/or resolve issues and potential conflicts
Support BioLabs management of the EICB and manage the development of with incubator resident companies

Qualifications/Skills:

BS/BA or equivalent minimum. MS or other advanced degree is preferred
6+ years of Life Science experience; Experience in oncology is a plus
Experience managing delivery/processes and mentoring early career researchers/scientists
Ability to evaluate novel technologies and platforms, particularly in the oncology space
Facility of working of using project management software – if not, willingness to learn.
Excellent written and communication skills.
Dedicated team player.
Interpersonal skills to effectively manage relationships with internal and external collaboration participants and maintain a professional and productive working environment.

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Eisai is an equal opportunity employer and as such, is committed in policy and in practice to recruit, hire, train, and promote in all job qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status. Similarly, considering the need for reasonable accommodations, Eisai prohibits discrimination against persons because of disability, including disabled veterans.

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