Head of Drug Safety

Contact: Kevin Mednick
Phone: (215) 658-1379

Position Overview

Our Client is redefining the power of small molecules to control the expression of genes. Based on its unique ability to elucidate regulatory regions of the genome, our Client aims to develop medicines that provide a profound benefit for patients with diseases that have eluded other genomics-based approaches.

Reporting to the Chief Medical Officer, the Head of Drug Safety will be responsible for leading the pharmacovigilance function, providing leadership and clinical support to drug safety data management and interpretation and risk management activities for the company, including oversight of clinical trial Serious Adverse Event (SAE) processing and safety data analysis to support signal detection and risk/benefit profile evaluation.  This individual will ensure timely, consistent, and accurate safety reporting in accordance with FDA, EMA, and ICH guidelines, applicable regulatory requirements, Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and standard operating procedures (SOPs). 

Job Responsibilities

  • Manage all aspects of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance, including leadership of safety data review, signal detection, risk communication including safety information updates, and mitigation of potential risks
  • Provide medical and drug safety expertise to enable decision-making based on ongoing risk-benefit assessment, clinical trial data interpretation, and medical review of individual case reports of serious adverse events
  • Address safety-related topics as a member of the Clinical Leadership Team
  • Work with Medical Directors, CRO Safety Physicians, and Clinical Scientists on safety monitoring and assessment activities, including:
    • Providing input for responses to regulatory agency questions and questions from IRBs and Ethics Committees, with respect to safety/pharmacovigilance activities and safety data
    • Acting as the point of contact accountable for setting up and running DSMBs 
    • Investigator’s Brochure/informed consent updates
    • Setting up and acting as chair for safety data review meetings 
    • Participating in routine safety cohort reviews for ongoing phase 1 dose escalation studies
    • Event coding and database reconciliation 
  • Oversee and manage a growing Safety Operations team, supporting the recruitment, training and professional development of Safety Department personnel
  • Constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the Drug Safety system
  • Communicate recommended changes to Drug Safety system changes to assure:
    • Compliance with safety data management and reporting requirements in all relevant territories
    • Optimized safety database ownership and access for safety monitoring, signal detection and reporting
    • Effective SOPs are in place
    • Strong safety vendor governance
  • Proactively recommend and plan for future development of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance to enable regulatory filings and commercialization, including acquiring QPPV support and the participation in creating Risk Management Plans and a Pharmacovigilance System Master File 
  • Oversee drug safety and pharmacovigilance activities conducted in partnership with external business partners or outsourced to vendors and contract research organizations
  • Lead the development of and review DSURs with Medical Directors/Clinical Scientists
  • Review safety sections on cross-functional documents, including study protocols, study reports, and regulatory reports
  • Ensure audit and inspection readiness of the function at all times

Job Requirements

  • MD required
  • Minimum of 7 years in Drug Safety related activities in pharma/biotech preferred
  • Demonstrated leadership abilities or oversight roles
  • Clinical trial experience 
  • Experience authoring, reviewing, and providing input to drug-safety related regulatory reports 
  • Successful involvement in regulatory agency interactions or inspections
  • Good knowledge of FDA, EU, ICH and other global regulatory requirements for safety reporting and safety data and risk management
  • Medical knowledge and familiarity with medical concepts and terminology used in hematology/oncology clinical trials and safety monitoring highly desirable and strongly preferred
  • Computer knowledge, including Microsoft Office, Windows, and familiarity with safety database use
  • Excellence in oral and written communications with attention to detail
  • Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
  • Possesses a sense of urgency and an ability to anticipate and respond quickly to emerging information
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills for effectively interfacing with vendors and internal stakeholders
  • Fosters strong relationships and values collaboration to develop and execute on plans
  • Excellent attention to detail and problem-solving skills
  • Acts with integrity and respect always

Location(s)

Cambridge, MA

If interested, please send a MS Word version of your resume to [email protected]

Submit Your Résumé