Principal Scientist Medicinal Chemistry

Pleased to meet you, we are Galapagos , a dynamic fast growing Biotech company. We’re in the business of changing lives.

Galapagos’ mission is to make a lasting positive contribution to society through discovery of innovative therapies for diseases with large unmet medical need. Galapagos’ historic focus on developing first-in-class medicines based on the discovery of novel targets in inflammation and fibrosis has led to the successful launch of our first medicine in rheumatoid arthritis in 2020 and in ulcerative colitis in 2021.

Galapagos is now entering an exciting new chapter to expand and diversify its pipeline for the future, starting with oncology, specifically CAR-T cell-therapy, a transformative treatment of different types of cancer. Through the combined acquisitions of CellPoint and AboundBio , we are propelling ourselves into next-generation cell therapies.

We are looking for a Principal Scientist Medicinal Chemistry - Mechelen, BE

Scope of the job

We are seeking a highly accomplished and creative Principal Scientist in Medicinal Chemistry to contribute to our drug discovery efforts and development of novel medicines. The successful candidate will be a key scientific contributor and leader, overseeing projects and teams to drive scientific excellence and innovation, reporting to the Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry.

Your role

1. Lead Medicinal Chemistry Projects : Take ownership of medicinal chemistry projects, employing expert knowledge to optimize physicochemical properties, develop structure-activity relationships, and drive the design of novel molecules, ultimately leading to the identification of clinical candidates. Formulate hypotheses, design and synthesize novel compounds to engage disease-modifying targets, and contribute decisively to drug discovery programs from hit ID to lead generation and optimization and clinical candidate nomination.

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration : Work collaboratively in a cross-functional matrix leadership role, building strong relationships with peers within project teams to support the advancement of compounds towards clinical candidate selection. Collaborate across disciplines with biologists, structural biologists, computational chemists, pharmacologists, and other experts to leverage state-of-the-art techniques.

3. Team Leadership and Mentorship : Provide scientific leadership to medicinal chemistry team members, mentoring and coaching on SAR analysis, compound design, and synthetic route optimization. Lead and develop colleagues to promote personal growth and create new scientific capabilities. Promote a culture of safety and adhere to EH&S guidelines.

4. Project Management : Plan, execute, interpret, and optimize structure-activity relationship campaigns, with a focus on the design of high-impact small molecules. Manage project-specific resources, both internal and external, and support the preparation of project-specific documents for patent filing.

5. Communication and Presentation : Present and actively participate in project and departmental research meetings. Author technical documents, patent applications, and scientific manuscripts, as well as prepare and present at scientific conferences