Ascelia Pharma is an oncology-dedicated drug development company located in Malmö, Sweden, focused on the development of novel drugs to improve the life expectancy and quality of life for people living with cancer.

Ascelia´s strategy is to develop and make available to patients a portfolio of differentiated, underappreciated and de-risked product candidates addressing unmet medical needs in cancer and cancer-related diseases. Ascelia is fully focused on two clinical-stage product candidates under development: Mangoral and Oncoral. The IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm has secured financing for the full Phase III program for Mangoral.

Mangoral 
Our lead candidate Mangoral is a liver imaging drug (i.e. a liver specific contrast agent) being developed for detection and localization of potential liver metastases, using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) in patients where use of the current gold standard gadolinium-based contrast agents (“GBCAs”) may be medically inadvisable. Mangoral is the only product targeting this market opportunity of $350-500 million annually and is about to start the registration enabling global phase 3 clinical study. Mangoral has Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA.

Oncoral
Our second drug candidate Oncoral is a novel tablet-based formulation of the well-known chemotherapeutic agent irinotecan, intended for the treatment of advanced gastric (stomach) cancer. Oncoral has completed Phase I studies with encouraging results and preparations for Phase II are ongoing.

Ascelia’s mission - to improve the quality of life expectancy of people living with cancer and cancer-related conditions.
Ascelia’s vision - to make available differentiated orphan medicinal products in oncology that satisfies an unmet medical need.

The company was founded in 2000, is recently listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Small Cap, March 2019, based in Malmö, and employs 12 people today.

For more information about Ascelia Pharma, please see www.ascelia.com

Läs mer

TILLSATT - Project Director


Ascelia Pharma is looking for a Project Director with a passion and creativity to develop novel drugs for oncology related conditions. To be successful in this new and exciting role, you need to be a self-starter with excellent project management skills and the ability to build strong alignment across functions. The candidate must also have an excellent understanding of the drug development process and ability to operate effectively within a pharmaceutical start-up setting.

The responsibility includes management of two programs during the clinical development and commercialization stages, depending on the stage and scope of the program. You will provide leadership, project management and program oversight to ensure timely deliveries.

The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with experience and interest in working in a small, entrepreneurial environment with broad responsibilities and opportunities. As the company is small, you must have a “can do” attitude and be comfortable in situations where you are hands-on. Integrity and an independent character are highly valued personal traits and should be combined with the ability to effectively coordinate and inspire team efforts towards meeting stretched goals. The Project Director will report to the Chief Executive Officer.

Responsibilities including but not limited to
• Support the program teams to develop, maintain and execute integrated development strategies for Mangoral and Oncoral
• Lead and develop cross-functional processes and plans together with the functional heads including realistic but aggressive timelines, budget and resources planning, risk assessment and contingency planning
• Ensure cross-functional alignment of the project plan
• Responsible for monitoring and tracking the projects against approved timelines and milestones, and ensure adherence to agreed-upon team objectives and deliverables
• Manage prioritization of project team activities to enhance program values
• Ability to identify issues and bottlenecks and proactively drive for their resolution. Lead contingency planning efforts.
• Lead ad-hoc cross-functional task forces as needed aiming at issue resolution
• Ensure effective, proactive and open communications, horizontally and vertically, in order to achieve transparency and clarity of program goals, progress and issues
• Participate in functional and strategic initiatives, as needed
• Participate in task force to optimize archiving and structuring of data

Requested qualifications
• Bachelor or Master of Science degree with many years of experience within pharmaceutical industry. Experience from different phases of drug development and commercialization is a plus
• Significant multi-/cross-functional leadership experience
• Experience in Project Management including Microsoft Project, PMP certification is a plus
• Previous work and leadership experience in international and multidisciplinary drug development teams and broad operational experience with an understanding of drug development process
• Advanced level of basic science. Experience working in oncology related conditions preferred
• Knowledge of regulatory and business requirements • Understands basic financial aspects, including knowledge of resource planning (headcount and budget) and management
• Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office Suite, Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)• Fluent in oral and written English
• All necessary permits to work in Sweden

Desired Skills/Experience
• Proactive, forward-thinking and a team player with leadership skills to achieve successful outcomes in collaboration with internal team and external collaborators, within budget and in a timely manner
• The ability to manage multiple priorities, while maintaining attention to detail is critical
• Ability to operate effectively within a pharmaceutical start-up setting
• Cross-functional team and relationship building skills
• A can-do attitude and ability to prioritize tasks and resources, meet deadlines, and be flexible to changing priorities
• Strong interpersonal, organizational and workload planning skills along with excellent verbal and written communication skills

Opportunities with the role
This is an opportunity to work in a rapidly growing biotech company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, with short decision-making processes where each employee's contribution is important for the company's development and results. You will play an important role in actively supporting the company to reach agreed milestones in the development projects and be part of the process all the way from clinical phase to the products reaching a global market.

Contact
For inquires and more information about the position, please contact:
Catharina Herbertsson or Eva Runnerström, Sr Recruitment Consultants at PeakSearch.

catharina.herbertsson@peaksearch.se, +46 (0)706 152 772
eva.runnerstrom@peaksearch.se, +46 (0)701 725 379
www.peaksearch.se

Application
Apply for the position at PeakSearch homepage www.peaksearch.se or send your cover letter together with your CV directly to either Catharina or Eva, see above.