Director, Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety (Safety Science)
Boston, MA, USA Req #259
Friday, July 12, 2024
Who We Are:
Who We Are: Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE ) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of people living with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team. What We Do: We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy and depression. Our flagship azetukalner program represents the most advanced potassium channel modulator in clinical development for multiple indications. Building upon the positive results and compelling data from our Phase 2b “X-TOLE” study in adult patients with focal epilepsy, our Phase 3 epilepsy program includes multiple clinical trials evaluating azetukalner in patients with focal onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In 2024, we are planning to initiate a Phase 3 azetukalner program in major depressive disorder, based on topline data from our Phase 2 “X-NOVA” clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of the leading-edge science coming out of our discovery labs, including early-stage research programs that leverage our extensive ion channel expertise and drug discovery capabilities to identify validated drug targets and develop new product candidates. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations. About the Role:
We are seeking a Director, Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety (Safety Science) to join our team. The incumbent is responsible for safety surveillance and aggregate safety reports and works with safety physicians for signal/risk management for assigned Xenon's products to support product safety and compliance with global drug safety regulations and departmental procedures and provide vendor oversight to CROs. The Directo demonstrates effective prioritization, critical thinking and judgment-based decision-making to execute key deliverables in compliance with global regulations and internal processes. The individual authors safety documents, review safety sections of other documents for Xenon products throughout the product lifecycle from First-in-Human (FIH) to post-marketing, performs QC and maintains document control of safety documents. This individual will organize cross-functional Safety Management Team meetings and collaborate with colleagues in Clinical Development, Trial Operations, Clinical Pharmacology, Biostatistics & Programming, Regulatory, Medical Affairs, non-clinical safety lead, QA and Legal departments. This individual oversees the ICSR data quality from safety vendors and ensures compliance with all applicable US and foreign legal and regulatory requirements for signal detection, evaluation and risk management of products.
This position reports to the Senior Director, Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety (Safety Science) and will be in Boston, MA, USA. We will consider other jurisdictions for exceptional candidates. The level of the position will be commensurate with the candidate's education and industry experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Author safety signal assessment reports and aggregate safety reports, write and maintain relevant SOPs and procedures in compliance with global safety regulations and guidelines, and provide training within DSPV and cross-functionally
- Provide vendor oversight for the quality of ICSRs, similar case analysis, and aggregate safety reporting; support initiatives from the scientific and PV regulation perspective such as inspection readiness, and launch readiness
- Organize and facilitate cross-functional Safety Management Team (SMT) meetings for signal management, risk management detect, and benefit-risk assessment for Xenon products, prepare the meeting minutes, and track actions
- Compile safety information for aggregate safety reports in support of periodic safety data review meetings.
- Review safety concerns escalated from internal and external stakeholders, including competent regulatory authorities, and provide support to develop strategies for safety assessment in collaboration with the Head of DSPV, Lead safety scientist, and safety physicians
- Review and communicate trending, signaling, and other safety-related issues originating from any source for the purposes of detecting and reviewing safety signals (e.g., change in frequency, nature, or severity of a safety-related issue) in a timely manner
- Review potential issues and safety signals and contribute to the Safety Governance process through the preparation and presentation of safety data; prepare and assess safety data for ongoing periodic/aggregate safety data reviews, and provide recommendations for review and approval by the Safety Advisory Committee
- Lead across cross-functional teams including but not limited to Non-clinical, Clinical Development, Trial Operations, Regulatory, Biostatistics, and Clinical Data Management to generate cross-functional safety documents such as DSUR and RMP
- Author safety-related documents for Xenon products throughout the product lifecycle from FIH to post-marketing, including Similar Case Analysis, Safety Assessment Reports for potential signals/risks, RSI in IB, ADR in the CCDS and product labels, Aggregate Safety Reports (e.g., DSUR, PBRER, PSUR, PADER), RMP/developmental RMP, and responses to ad-hoc requests for safety information internally and externally
- Provide safety data and review IND Annual Reports in collaboration with other stakeholders
- Review SMP, and provide input to safety-related sections of clinical study documents including Study Protocols, Informed Consent Forms (ICF), Clinical Study Reports (CSR), and other relevant documents
- Perform medical review of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSR) including fields such as case narrative, MedDRA coding, labeling, causality and company comment, and oversee the data quality of ICSR from safety vendors
- Provide oversight of MedDRA and WHO Drug coding
- Schedule meetings for safety teams, clinical teams and vendors for follow-up queries and company causality assessment for SAEs, pregnancy and special cases in clinical trials.
- Perform QC (quality control) for multiple tasks and data reconciliation of between the Clinical and the Safety Database
- Document Control: maintain electronic files for relevant DSPV documents on the Xenon SharePoint or shared drives or other system
- Assist department head to facilitate department meetings; prepare agendas and meeting minutes; assist with vendor management and oversight
- Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any
- Other duties as assigned
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Health Care Professional degree required (e.g., RN/BSN/MSN, NP, PharmD) and 8+ years of pharmaceutical industry experience in drug safety & pharmacovigilance as a Safety Scientist for products in the clinical trial and post-marketing environments or MD with 4+years of clinical experience and 6+years of pharmaceutical industry experience in Safety Science, Clinical Development, or Clinical Research is preferred
- Experience authoring safety signal assessment reports, DSUR, PBRER, RMP, and RSI
- Prior experience with Regulatory Agency interactions
- Skilled in signal detection process and managing safety information from clinical development and post-marketing sources
- Experienced with FDA/EMA regulations and ICH guidance governing pharmacovigilance and risk management
- Knowledge of drug development process, pharmacovigilance databases and MedDRA coding
- Experience with use of safety databases, preferably Argus Safety Database
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to write clearly and concisely, and strong presentation skills
- Time management skills with the ability to prioritize to meet required deadlines
- Ability to multitask and prioritize under tight deadlines while providing attention to detail and high-quality work in a dynamic environment
- Ability to be flexible, adapt to change, work independently, as well as experience working in a highly collaborative matrix environment
The base salary range for this role is $210,000 to $239,500 USD; we will consider above this range for exceptional candidates. Base salary is determined by a combination of factors including, but not limited to, education and other qualifications, years of relevant experience, and internal equity.
Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-& long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.
Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown. Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees. US positions only:Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. participates in the E-Verify program in all states in which we hire. Learn more about the E-Verify program here .
To apply for this position, click Apply Now to complete the application. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to the volume of applicants, only those chosen for interview will be contacted.
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