Vice President, Clinical Development, Ophthalmology

Job description

Attention recruitment agencies: All agency inquiries are vetted through 4DMT’s internal Talent Acquisition team. No unsolicited resumes will be accepted. The 4DMT Talent Acquisition team must expressly engage agencies on any requisition. Agencies contacting hiring managers directly will not be tolerated, and doing so may impact your ability to work with 4DMT in the future.

4DMT is a leading late-stage biotechnology company advancing durable and disease-targeted therapeutics with potential to transform treatment paradigms and provide unprecedented benefits to patients. The Company’s lead product candidate 4D-150 is designed to be a backbone therapy forming the foundation of treatment of blinding retinal vascular diseases by providing multi-year sustained delivery of anti-VEGF (aflibercept and anti-VEGF-C) with a single, safe, intravitreal injection, which substantially reduces the treatment burden associated with current bolus injections. The Company’s lead indication for 4D-150 is wet age-related macular degeneration, which is currently in Phase 3 development, and second indication is diabetic macular edema. The Company’s second product candidate is 4D-710, which is the first known genetic medicine to demonstrate successful delivery and expression of the CFTR transgene in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis after aerosol delivery

GENERAL SUMMARY

Reporting to the Chief Medical Officer the VP Clinical Development, Ophthalmology provides strategic and operational leadership for the global development of ophthalmic genetic medicines in Drug Development.

We seek an experienced physician to play a critical role at 4DMT as we spearhead the introduction of the first intravitreally delivered genetic medicines for the treatment of the most common causes of irreversible blindness. The VP, Clinical Development, ophthalmology will be the primary point person for medical oversight of clinical studies with responsibilities to include medical monitoring, review and interpretation of clinical trial data, clinical trial design, protocol development, and drafting of key clinical documents such as protocol, CSR, briefing package, IND, NDA, BLA, etc. This role will be responsible for timely execution of deliverables in close collaboration with relevant internal and external partners.

MAJOR DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as the primary medical monitor for multiple ophthalmology clinical trials, providing expert oversight of patient safety, data integrity, and protocol adherence throughout study execution.
• Direct and mentor a team of medical monitors, ensuring high standards of medical oversight and data review, while maintaining personal accountability for real-time monitoring activities and timely delivery of critical clinical trial outputs
• Provide medical leadership for cross-functional internal workstreams including pharmacovigilance, biostatistics, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, etc.
• Provide oversight and lead teams responsible for development plans, study protocols, amendments, ICFs, IBs, INDs, annual reports, CSRs, regulatory response documents and other regulatory submissions or documents as appropriate
• Collaborate closely with Clinical Operations and be accountable for clinical trial conduct and timelines for associated key deliverables.
• Keep up to date with compliance, SOPs and adhere to ICH, GCP, and relevant regulatory guidelines.
• Provide medical leadership for internal audits and regulatory inspections.
• Assist in preparation of materials for Advisory Board meetings, BOD meetings, etc
• Represent 4DMT and Lead interactions and collaborations with potential partners
• Represent the Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area with key external stakeholders, including patients and patient advocacy groups, external experts, investors, and the ophthalmic and biotech business communities
• Other duties as assigned, nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• M.D. Degree
• Clinical training in Ophthalmology
• Retina fellowship training a plus
• Board Certification (or equivalent)

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of biopharma industry experience in drug development
• Phase 3 experience in retinal disease (s)
• Experience with NDA, BLA or MAA submission(s). Drug approval(s) a plus.
• Experience with gene therapy, other areas of Drug Development and commercialization is a plus

Other Qualifications/Skills:

• Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional coefficient
• Highly effective written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and strategic planning skills.
• Up to date understanding of the ophthalmic competitive landscape with a focus on retina
• Prior Clinical Trial experience in Retina
• Experience in participating or leading global regulatory interactions
• Ability to understand and translate complex data to key messages
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to prioritize effectively
• Proven ability to plan and conduct clinical trials ensuring high-quality trial execution and results within established timelines; demonstrated track record in working effectively in cross-functional teams and work streams (pharmacovigilance, biostatistics, clinical operations, and regulatory.
• Track record of thinking strategically and executing to strategy
• Demonstrated success in influencing colleagues and senior leaders in various departments.
• Experience building and leading teams and driving engagement in a matrixed environment.
• Attention to detail, internal drive to generate high-quality work, and sense of passion and urgency to achieve team and program goals.
• Able to ensure accountability
• Able to manage conflict
• Comfortable managing ambiguity
• Strong clinical and scientific knowledge of ophthalmology (and retinal disease in particular)
• Track record of developing talent
• Record of cultivating and managing internal and external cross-functional collaborations.
• Demonstrates high integrity.
• Experience in successfully presenting and interacting with the Ophthalmic Retina Community and regulatory authorities in US, EU and APAC
• Integrated understanding of FDA, EMA, ICH, and GCP guidelines. Prior interactions with FDA and EMA regulatory agencies is desirable.

Travel Domestic and Internationally: 20%

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Physical Activity - Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling. Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word.
• Physical Requirements - Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
• Working Conditions - The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (as in typical office or administrative work).

Base salary compensation range: $380,000/yr - $433,000/yr

Please note, the base salary compensation range and actual salary offered to the final candidate depends on various factors: relevant work experience, skills, and years of experience

4DMT provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran, and any other category protected under applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities