Intellectual Property Scientist / IP Lead - Drug Discovery

Role & responsibilities

Intellectual Property Strategy & Patentability Assessment

• Conduct novelty, patentability, and prior-art searches using scientific and patent databases.
• Evaluate inventions arising from discovery and development programs, including compounds, formulations, biologics, targets, and technologies.
• Assess patentability, inventive step, industrial applicability, and associated risks.
• Prepare invention assessments, novelty reports, and strategic filing recommendations.
• Review ELNs, scientific reports, SAR data, biological evaluation reports, presentations, and project documentation to develop complete patent specifications.
• Collaborate with project teams to identify and protect innovative research outcomes.

Patent Drafting & Prosecution Support

• Draft and review pharmaceutical patent applications, specifications, and claim sets.
• Develop robust claim strategies including composition of matter, formulations, processes, polymorphs, salts, metabolites, intermediates, and therapeutic use claims.
• Prepare broad Markush claims and appropriate fallback positions to maximize patent protection.
• Work with external patent attorneys on filings, prosecution, office action responses, oppositions, and global portfolio management.
• Support inventors in generating scientific data necessary for strong patent filings.

Freedom-to-Operate & Competitive Intelligence

• Perform Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) assessments for discovery and development programs.
• Identify patent barriers, infringement risks, and third-party rights.
• Recommend design-around options and risk mitigation strategies.
• Conduct patent landscape analyses and monitor competitor activities, competitive intelligence reports, research trends, and emerging technologies.

Lifecycle Management & Portfolio Development

• Identify IP opportunities related to drug repurposing, new indications, differentiated formulations, fixed-dose combinations, dosage regimens, and alternative delivery technologies.
• Support lifecycle management and differentiated product strategies, including 505(b)(2)-type strategies where applicable.
• Manage patent portfolios across multiple jurisdictions and monitor prosecution activities, deadlines, grants, and annuities.
• Recommend continuation, divisional, follow-on, and lifecycle extension strategies.
• Utilize AI-enabled patent analytics and digital tools to improve efficiency and knowledge management.

Preferred candidate profile :

• M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry), M.Pharm. (Medicinal Chemistry), or related discipline.
• 7-12 years of relevant experience in pharmaceutical intellectual property, patent drafting, patent analytics, or drug discovery support.
• Postgraduate qualification in Patent Law, Intellectual Property Rights, or Intellectual Property Management is a must.
• Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Biology, or a related discipline is desirable.

Interested candidates can send their updated CV to [email removed].