Global Translational Medicine Lead

Description

Global Translational Medicine Lead

About Astellas

At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed.

We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions.

We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage.

Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division.

We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their caregivers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes.

Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.

The Opportunity

As a Global Translational Medicine Lead, you will lead the charge in shaping and delivering cutting-edge Translational Medicine strategies that fuel Astellas’ preclinical and clinical immuno-oncology pipeline. We’re seeking a proven leader with a track record of driving translational science programs, pioneering biomarker innovation, and steering patient selection strategies in clinical trials.

Success in this role means inspiring and guiding cross-functional teams to bring bold ideas into practice. Provide administrative, project management, and logistical support to the Marketing and Brand Team, contributing to the successful delivery of the brand plan.

Hybrid Working

At Astellas we recognise the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimise the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Designing and implementing biomarker strategies for (pre)-clinical studies, including hypothesizing on mechanisms of action, identifying biomarkers, and developing patient selection approaches.
• Contributing to the overall clinical development strategy and trial design, incorporating biomarker endpoints.
• Collaborating with multiple teams across the value chain (e.g., clinical pharmacology, statistics, clinical operations, data management, clinical/asset teams), ensuring biomarker strategies are integrated to inform clinical development.
• Analysing, interpreting, and communicating clinical biomarker data to internal and external stakeholders, informing and enabling decision-making.
• Contributing to clinical documents such as protocols, IBs, study reports, statistical analysis plans, publications, CSRs, and biomarker sections in regulatory submissions.
• Developing reverse translation strategies and plans, informing combination strategy and discovery research.
• Identifying and leading the evaluation of state-of-the-art technologies for translational and biomarker research, including establishing translational.
• medicine-focused external collaborations.
  
  

Essential Knowledge & Experience

• Extensive relevant experience in drug discovery and clinical development within a biotech or pharmaceutical company, particularly contributing expertise in identifying and validating pharmacodynamic and patient selection biomarkers.
• Demonstrating breadth of knowledge in cancer biology, cancer genomics, and oncology drug development.
• Proving success by leading and collaborating with cross-functional teams, consistently delivering high-quality clinical biomarker data to guide decisions and development strategy.
• Applying broad technical expertise in DNA, RNA, and protein-based biomarker assays (e.g., PCR, NGS, ELISA/MSD, IHC), while conducting fit-for-purpose biomarker assay qualification and validation.
• Driving innovation with a growth mindset, incorporating new technologies into translational and biomarker research.
• Showcasing strong communication and leadership skills.
  
  

Preferred Experience

• Experience in immuno-oncology drug development.
  
  

Education

• Advanced science degree (PhD, PharmD, or MD) with primary focus in oncology and/or immuno-oncology or equivalent.
  
  

Additional Information

• The is a permanent, full-time position based in the UK.
• This position follows our hybrid working model. Role requires a blend of home and a minimum of 1 day a quarter in our Addlestone office. Flexibility may be required in line with business needs. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.
  
  

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.