Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry

About the Company

MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotech company that focuses on drug discovery for central nervous system disorders. We combine cutting-edge technologies including optogenetics, in vivo physiology, and spatial transcriptomics to identify novel drug targets and develop effective therapies to address psychiatric symptoms.

Responsibilities

• Co-lead or lead preclinical medicinal chemistry programs from hit to candidate nomination
• Design and execute medicinal chemistry strategies to meet project and corporate goals
• Conduct multi-parameter optimization to deliver orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant candidates
• Apply structure-based drug design principles utilizing in-house and external computational resources
• Manage chemistry and tiered screening cascades at external contract research organizations (CROs)
• Coordinate with in-house drug discovery teams to ensure compound distribution
• Provide regular project updates to Leadership and Project Teams including SAR, ADME, and PK analyses
• Co-lead patent strategy to protect existing or novel chemical matter

Requirements

• PhD in Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry with 10+ years of pharmaceutical experience, or BS/MS with 15+ years
• Proven experience (co)leading preclinical drug discovery programs
• Prior experience in CNS drug discovery is essential
• Track record of delivering brain-penetrant candidate compounds for brain disorders
• Experience managing projects remotely through multiple CRO partners
• Strong knowledge of computational chemistry, biology, pharmacology, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics
• Record of accomplishments through patents and/or publications