Company Profile

Rakuten Aspyrian, Inc., is a privately funded clinical stage biotechnology company with offices in the USA, Japan and Germany. Since 2013, Rakuten Aspyrian has been developing new anticancer therapies based on the Photoimmunotherapy platform. Rakuten Aspyrian plans to become a fully integrated biopharma with research, development, and world-wide commercialization of therapies based on the Photoimmunotherapy platform.

Our long-term objective is to commercialize a number of therapies based on Photoimmunotherapy to treat a broad range of solid tumor types as single agent and in combination with other immunomodulatory agents to generate robust and long lasting anticancer immunological responses.

Rakuten Aspyrian is currently sponsoring a global Phase 3 multicenter clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ASP-1929 in patients with recurrent Head and Neck Cancer and additional Phase 2 studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy in patients with other cancer types.

Given the rapid progression of the clinical studies we are quickly expanding the team to support late stage pivotal clinical development and future commercialization of our products.


Position Summary

Rakuten Aspyrian is building its clinical team to support its ongoing and upcoming clinical studies, including a global Phase 3 clinical study. The Senior Medical Director, Medical Director or Associate Medical Director will be a key member of the clinical team with responsibilities to support Aspyrian’s current clinical development program, provide medical expertise to company and project team members, participate as a project team member in new product development and be the medical lead in Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials commensurate with their experience.

The ideal candidate will have an MD, DO, or equivalent degree, hold an active MD &/or DO license, with experience in medical, surgical, or radiation oncology preferred. Additionally, previous industry experience including a working knowledge of drug development process, GCP, ICH guidelines, FDA and EMA regulations as well as direct involvement as an investigator of clinical studies or direct experience in managing clinical operations, medical affairs, and medical safety and monitoring is highly desirable.

The Clinical Medical Director may be located anywhere in Western Europe within a reasonable distance of a major airport, and will report to the Chief Medical Officer.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Instruct and oversee investigator’s proper performance of Rakuten Aspyrian therapies

Provide medical oversight of clinical trials to ensure company standard operating procedures, company directives and regulatory requirements are understood and followed

Provide medical expertise to identify new product opportunities and portfolio development

Active participation as a member of the clinical development team for early stage products

Medical lead for Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials

Participate in clinical trial development, including providing input into and/or developing materials such as target product profiles, protocols/amendments and informed consents

Work with the Medical Safety and Pharmacovigilance team to perform clinical site medical monitoring as necessary

Perform medical review of clinical study reports

Attend and present at investigator and company meetings as needed in collaboration with Medical Affairs

Manage integration of clinical programs with regulatory strategy

Participate in clinical site identification, initiation oversight, and close-out

Support the clinical operations group in the management of the CRO’s timely execution of clinical studies

Actively participate in interactions with KOLS, in coordination with Medical Affairs

Other duties as assigned


Desired Education, Skills and Experience

An MD, DO, or equivalent degree with active medical license required

Oncology experience required, preferably in medical, surgical &/or radiation oncology

Expertise in clinical trial design in oncology preferred

Experience in Medical Affairs, Medical Safety, Medical Monitoring and Medical lead on Phase 1-2 clinical trials highly valued.

Working knowledge of FDA & EMA guidelines for adverse event reporting, Federal Guidelines, GCP, and ICH-GCP

Familiar with FDA & EMA guidelines for IND and NDA submissions

Understanding of clinical pharmacology with an emphasis on PK/PD of antibodies preferred

Working knowledge of biostatistics, data management, and clinical operations' procedures

Proficient in the drug development process

Strong analytical skills

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Outstanding interpersonal and team building skills

Ability to work independently, analyse, and work with attention to detail, process and prioritize sensitive complex information and problem solve

Ability to exercise creativity and judgment

Able to travel approximately 50% of the time (including overnight stays) by air, rail, or auto to clinical sites to support European clinical studies.

We are proud to offer a competitive compensation plan with an excellent benefits package.

Rakuten Aspyrian Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills.


This position has been filled. Would you like to see our other open positions?