Preclinical and translational PKPD Scientist

at  AstraZeneca

Are you an experienced scientist with a flair for mathematical modelling and knowledge of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics? Are you passionate about PKPD and model-based drug discovery? Would you like to apply your knowledge in a global company that follows the science and turns ideas into life-changing medicines? If you are ready to drive innovation and make meaningful impacts in the PKPD field, then you could be the new colleague we are looking for to be part of the development of future treatment within respiratory and immunology.
Working at AstraZeneca means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We are now recruiting a highly skilled and passionate scientist with expertise in mathematical modelling, preferably applied in the field of pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PKPD), to join the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) team of project leads within the Early Respiratory and Immunology (R&I) therapeutic area at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Early R&I is one of the three main therapeutic research areas within AstraZeneca which deliver candidate drugs into late-stage clinical development. DMPK interacts with other functions in supporting Early R&I projects all along the value chain, from target selection all the way to market launch and life-cycle management. At AstraZeneca we are proud to have an outstanding workplace culture that encourages innovation and teamwork. We are united by our vision to push the boundaries of DMPK science to transform ideas into medicines for R&I patients.
This position will be on-site in Gothenburg, Sweden and will not have the ability to be located remotely. The position can be filled at Senior Scientist, Associate Principal Scientist or Principal Scientist level, depending on background, experience and skills.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

As a PKPD Scientist you will be involved in many tasks related to PK and PKPD assessment, modelling and translation. You will represent the department in highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary project teams in early R&I across a broad range of drug modalities from target identification to life cycle management. We believe that you have solid, hands-on experience of PKPD modeling and that you will be able to provide expert advice and interpretation of complex drug discovery data.

Main Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Build appropriate mathematical models (e.g. traditional PKPD modelling, non-linear mixed effects modelling, quantitative systems pharmacology) and perform simulations of human PK and PD based on preclinical (in vitro/in vivo) data and literature data on relevant drugs to deliver a translational quantitative PKPD strategy in projects
• Integrate the appropriate data to predict human pharmacokinetics, efficacious human drug exposure, human longitudinal response (e.g. biomarker and disease effects), and human dosing regimen. This is done in close collaboration with other functions (biologists, safety scientists, clinical pharmacologist and clinical pharmacometricians)
• Inform and influence the design of preclinical PK and PKPD studies to answer relevant pharmacological questions and contribute to estimation of safety margins
• Report results and interpretations to project teams and communicate scientific progress to internal and external stakeholders

ESSENTIAL FOR THE ROLE

• PhD/MSc in mathematics, pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, chemistry or related field, or equivalent experience in a relevant field and least 5 years’ relevant experience
• Solid understanding of PKPD and hands on experience of mathematical modelling (e.g. empirical PKPD models, in vitro-in vivo translation, non-linear mixed effects models, quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) models) and substantial relevant pharmaceutical industry experience
• Experience working in cross-functional project teams with a proactive and collaborative mindset and excellent communication skills
• Working knowledge of PKPD software (e.g. Phoenix WinNonlin, Matlab, R, NONMEM, or similar) and the ability to critically assess PKPD data
• Proven scientific leadership and ability to mentor junior colleagues
• Scientific leadership evidenced by a publication track record and ability to independently lead the drafting and review of publication manuscripts
• Excellent interpersonal skills