Associate Director / Director - Biologics Drug Product Development

About the role

Biologics Drug Product Development (Bio DPD), a part of Development Sciences within AbbVie's R&D, is a global organization that is responsible for drug product formulation and process development, and definition of the product presentation for biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides, neurotoxins etc.) and genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, Cell Therapy).

AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated candidate for the position of Director, located in North Chicago, IL. We are seeking an accomplished scientist with a proven track record in biologics drug product development. This position will be an integral part of the product development and CMC teams and will have strong collaborations with several stakeholders, including discovery research, analytical research and development, bioprocess development, combination products development, product development science and technology, pilot plants and third-party manufacturers.

The role could be filled at the associate director or director level depending on the candidate's qualifications and experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and technical oversight for drug product development of ultra-high concentration drug product formulation and process development and technology transfer, including fixed dose combinations for a wide range of biologics modalities.
• Oversee drug product development of a portfolio of 5-7 pipeline programs spanning early- and late-stage development, including management of external partnerships as appropriate.
• Effective and timely communication of development plans, risks, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and line management.
• Initiate and/or sponsor scientific initiatives to drive innovation, continuously enhance capabilities and platforms, and improve business processes.
• Accountable for the timely authoring of high-quality technical reports as well as drug product sections in global regulatory filings.
• Serve as drug product development subject matter expert in due diligence of external opportunities.
• Supervise and mentor a team of 8-10 scientists that may include technical group leaders.

Qualifications & Requirements

This position can be hired at either the Associate Director or Director level depending on education and years of experience.

Required Qualifications

• Director: BS, MS, or PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines with 18+ (Bachelors), 16+ (Masters), or 10+ (PhD) years of relevant industry experience.
• Associate Director: BS, MS, or PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines with 16+ (Bachelors), 14+ (Masters), or 8+ (PhD) years of relevant industry experience.
• Proven ability to solve critical scientific problems.
• Extensive experience in biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides and/or neurotoxins), parenteral synthetic molecules and/or genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, cell therapy) drug product development.
• Experience in sterile manufacturing unit operations (freeze-thaw, compounding, mixing, filtration and filling, lyophilization) development.
• Experience leading drug product development as the functional lead within cross-functional teams.
• 5+ years of progressive people management roles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with development and commercialization of ultra-high concentration liquid formulations for fixed dose combinations and drug product-device integration.
• Hands-on experience with authoring regulatory filings for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
• Understanding of relevant cGMP and regulatory guidance for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
• Experience in managing third-party manufacturers of sterile parenteral products.
• Experience with quality risk management and control strategies for biologics and sterile parenteral products.

Key Competencies

• Deep scientific knowledge and significant hands-on experience with ultra-high co-formulation development and characterization.
• Effectively communicates to influence without authority, drives technical excellence, and inspires continuous improvement.
• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functional partners to enable higher performance.
• Connects ideas from disparate fields, integrates data and information quickly, and takes risks to achieve the highest performance.
• Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo.
• Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.
• Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.