Senior Scientist, -Throughput In Vitro ADME

At Takeda, we are a forward-looking, world-class R&D organization that unlocks innovation and delivers transformative therapies to patients. By focusing R&D efforts on three therapeutic areas and other targeted investments, we push the boundaries of what is possible to bring life-changing therapies to patients worldwide.
Objective / Purpose :
The Senior Scientist, High-Throughput In Vitro ADME is a scientist experienced in designing and implementing in vitro ADME assays at scale to support small- and large-molecule discovery programs to be a key member of a newly formed team that is designing and building Takeda’s high-throughput in vitro ADME capabilities as part of the Labs of Tomorrow initiative.

Reporting to the Director, High-Throughput In Vitro ADME, within the Discovery Automation and Robotics (DAR) department. This Senior Scientist will design, implement and operate assays based on a fundamental understanding of ADME principles, while driving technology innovation at the interface of ADME science, laboratory automation, and robotics. The High-Throughput In Vitro ADME team, delivers robust, fit for purpose ADME data to enable rapid, high-confidence decision-making in Design–Make–Test–Analyze (DMTA) cycles across the portfolio.

Accountabilities:

• Leadership & People Development:
  • Mentor scientists and research associates who are involved in the routine delivery of in vitro ADME assays.
  • Demonstrate behaviors that are consistent with a culture of scientific rigor, operational excellence, safety, and customer focus, supported by clear KPIs (e.g., cycle time, success rate, capacity utilization, cost-per-data point).
  • Bring a team first mentality to personal/scientific responsibility.
• High-Throughput ADME Operations:
  • Design, execute, and continuously improve assays as part of a broad high throughput in vitro ADME panel, to include but not be limited to
  • Physiochemical characterization
    • Kinetic solubility, Log D, etc.
  • Metabolic stability
    • Microsomes, Hepatocytes, S9 in Human and Preclinical species
    • Supersomes
  • Metabolic soft spot determination
  • Permeability
    • MDCK, Caco-2, PAMPA
  • Distribution/Free Fraction
    • Plasma Protein Binding, Whole Blood Partitioning, Tissue Binding
  • Reaction Phenotyping
    • CYPs, AO, Phase 2 enzymes
    • Efflux Transporters
  • Drug-Drug interactions
    • CYP inhibition and induction
    • Transporter inhibition
  • Safety liabilities
    • hERG, Synchro Patch
  • Build and adapt assays as required to meet the diversity of both small-molecule and large-molecule modalities. Maintaining a flexible mindset to ensure that assays meet the needs of the new modalities and platforms as the portfolio evolves.
  • Own assays (and associated data) that you have developed from validation through production
• Laboratory Automation, Robotics & Miniaturization:
  • Bring a laboratory automation and robotics mindset to the in vitro ADME space, in close alignment with the Director, High Throughput in Vitro ADME.
  • Be a champion for assay miniaturization to increase throughput/speed while maintaining assay quality and reducing costs.
  • Integrate liquid handlers, plate handlers, robotic arms, incubators, plate readers, mass spectrometers and scheduling software into end-to-end automated workflows.
  • Partner with internal automation/engineering and informatics teams to ensure seamless connectivity between instruments, LIMS/ELN, data pipelines, and analytical platforms.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Interface with DMPK, medicinal chemistry, biology, pharmacology, translational sciences, and data science. To understand how data from the assays you build will be interpreted and integrated into Discovery programs and AI learning.
  • In partnership with the Director, High Throughput in Vitro ADME modify/adjust assays to meet the needs of the portfolio.
  • Use commercial…