Job Description
You will be joining Jey Jeyakumar to develop a curative gene therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF). See ‘Our approach’ below for more detail on what Jey is working on at Deep Science Ventures (DSV) in collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).
Qualifications, skills, and all relevant experience needed for this role can be found in the full description below.
At the beginning, you will work in-house at DSV for ~3-6 months on our early-stage, novel scientific approach. At the end of that period, together with Jey, DSV and the CFF, you will have helped to build the final detailed technical and commercial strategy, secure the advisory board, and be investor-ready prior to spinning-out a venture, where you will become its full-time Co-Founder.
ABOUT JEY
Over the last 6 months , Jey has worked with DSV, devising and de-risking a novel non-viral approach to deliver functional copies of CFTR, mutations in which cause cystic fibrosis, to all affected tissues and cells. Before joining DSV, Jey was a Scientific Director at Freeline Therapeutics, where he led multiple AAV therapeutic programmes. Jey has broad experience in rare genetic diseases and a successful track record in progressing gene therapy projects from early discovery to clinical development, with 15 years of experience in industry R&D. Jey holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield and a PhD from the University of Oxford.
THE CHALLENGE
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders, occurring in one of every 2,500 live births. It is caused by mutations in CFTR , a gene that encodes an anion channel. It affects several organs, including the lung, liver, pancreas, and intestine. Recent advances in therapies have made CF manageable for many people, but only for those with certain types of mutations. Unlike existing medications, gene therapy has the potential to cure cystic fibrosis in everyone who has this disease. To date, a lack of efficient delivery vehicles and durability of expression hamper its successful development. We believe that’s set to change.
OUR APPROACH
We focused on next generation gene therapeutics, an approach that delivers functional copies of CFTR to all affected tissues and cells in the body through systemic intravenous delivery. To achieve this, we need to overcome the delivery challenges that are present with existing non-viral systems. We have adapted strategies, and believe that we have an approach that could enable gene therapies to cure CF, and that could be adapted to other genetic disorders.
We have teamed up with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), a mission-driven charity aiming to find cures for CF. You will have DSV’s support in venture creation whilst being able to tap into the CFF’s network and expertise, including technical, non-clinical and regulatory advice throughout the process. The CFF offers access to a robust support infrastructure, including the most comprehensive registry of CF patient data in the world, a wide range of researcher tools and resources, access to a broad range of scientific and regulatory expertise, and a cutting-edge lab focused on developing tools to facilitate genetic therapy research.
WHO SHOULD APPLY
You must have a PhD or similar in chemistry, biological science, or a life science-related field, with a strong technical background in gene therapy development.
- We are looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, who is innovative, ambitious, and highly motivated.
- Prior experience in viral and non-viral gene therapy platforms, targeted drug delivery, bio-conjugation, or nanomedicine would be desirable.
- Those who have worked on the technical aspects of cell/gene therapy vectors, including plasmid design, promoter screening, cellular assays for molecular screening and functional assessments of gene therapy prototypes should also apply.
- Direct work with LNP technologies or similar is highly valued, especially in designing targeting moieties (antibodies/peptides/aptamers) for cell- or organ-specific targeting for gene therapy applications.
- Anyone with a burning desire for success and scientists with an entrepreneurial appetite to use their technical knowledge and transferable skills to build de novo ventures should apply.
ABOUT DSV
Deep Science Ventures is creating a future in which both humans and the planet can thrive.
We use our unique venture creation process to create, spin-out and invest into science companies, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures.
We operate in 4 sectors: Pharmaceuticals, Climate, Agriculture and Computation, tackling the challenges defining those areas by taking a first principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.
DSV’s OFFER
DSV are a team of operators who have founded companies and led translation of science at some of the most respected universities, charities, funds, and government agencies. 2/3 of the DSV team have founded or led a company at C-suite and 65% have a PhD. DSV are deeply involved in each company, providing:
- Mentorship and guidance through weekly deep dive work sessions, access to our opportunity insights and knowledge base, access to a global network of experts, access to a community of other science Founders working on launching their own companies, and a curated collection of resources and proprietary tools, including for hiring Co-Founders, Advisors and first employees.
- £250k pre-seed investment, access to our industry network, advice on follow-on fundraising strategy, including:
- advice on technical and commercial investment milestones, co-development of technical roadmap and go to market strategy, investment readiness pre-launch with further focus on technical and commercial proof, customer development support.
- introductions to seed investors and potential customers from our global network, support with term sheet negotiation, supporting grant applications to leverage further non-dilutive funding and value uplift and access to a community of seasoned science founders in our portfolio.
- A monthly stipend of £2,916 so that you’ll have guaranteed income before you’re able to secure the pre-seed investment. In other words, we pay you to start your own company. We also cover pre-investment expenses that are crucial for the development of the project.
OUR IMPACT
We’ve so far built from scratch and invested in 10 brand new companies in the curative therapeutics space, including the three oncology ventures we built recently in partnership with Cancer Research UK – read our Founder stories here.