Head of Intellectual Property

Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, the Head of Intellectual Property Counsel will provide strategic vision addressing Kymera's current and future intellectual property portfolio. They will work in partnership with other senior leaders to design, develop and drive implementation of intellectual property strategy aligned with Kymera's overall strategic directives. This is a senior level role with CEO visibility.

The Head of IP will be able to clearly articulate Kymera's IP strategy, responsible for the Company's intellectual property affairs, including client counseling, litigation, licensing and other complex business transactions, patent drafting, prosecution and enforcement, publication review, due diligence, trademark matters, and opinion work. The Head of IP will be an integral working partner with the company's research and development organizations, business development team, and legal colleagues. The Head of IP will manage relationships with outside counsel and oversee intellectual property spend. The Head of IP will supervise one intellectual property counsel and be responsible for fostering career development of the in–house team.

Kymera Therapeutics is a publicly listed, clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering the field of targeted protein degradation (TPD) to bring life–changing medicines to patients that need them. Kymera's Pegasus TPD platform harnesses the body's natural protein recycling machinery to degrade disease–causing proteins, with a focus on undrugged nodes in validated pathways currently inaccessible with conventional therapeutics. As we work toward becoming a fully–integrated biopharmaceutical company, we are growing and strengthening organizational capabilities and evolving our culture. As a result, Kymera has been recognized by both the Boston Globe and the Boston Business Journal as one of Boston's top workplaces.

In 2023, we plan to continue to advance our leadership in TPD and enhance our capabilities to deliver on the potential of inventing a new class of protein degrader medicines for patients. Kymera is rapidly advancing four clinical stage programs in oncology and immunology, and is positioned to deliver one additional Investigational New Drug Applications (IND) annually. We are also actively advancing a broad pipeline of preclinical programs where TPD has the potential to provide a best–in–class approach, both internally and in collaboration with our partners Sanofi and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Responsibilities:

• Pioneer:
  • Impact and set the stage for the future direction of the company through the use of strategy and execution and effective use of intellectual property offensively and defensively.
  • Lead legal activities for Kymera's platform technologies and targets across patents and trade secrets globally; establish governance and initiatives to ensure capture of innovation; create value through the development of the patent portfolio.
  • Oversee preparation and prosecution of global portfolio; counsel internal clients with regards to patentability, freedom–to–operate and other intellectual property matters.
  • Advise on emerging legal issues in the area of intellectual property to ensure innovative and cutting–edge approaches.

• Collaborate:
  • Build relationships that foster a cohesive, committed team environment driving effective partnership with cross–functional teams.
  • It is imperative that the individual have excellent interpersonal skills, be articulate, direct and forthright, and be a collaborative and decisive team member as well as a strategic thinker with a broad perspective.
  • Negotiate IP terms of licensing and other agreements (MTAs, CTAs, SRAs). Work closely with research and clinical development teams to evaluate and support the development of new technologies, and to provide IP training, generate new ideas and harvest new inventions.
  • Lead preparation and prosecution of patent applications relating to targeted protein degradation targets and platform innovations, consistent with Kymera's patent strategy and patent lifecycle management best practices.
  • Monitor competitor portfolios.
  • Review proposed scientific disclosures and participate in disclosure review governance.

• Belong:

• The Head of IP will be an accessible and personable attorney with strong business acumen; be an active listener and encapsulate Kymera's core values.
• The qualified applicant will thrive in fast–paced proactive culture; deal with complexity and ambiguity.

Qualifications:

• JD with admission in good standing to the bar of at least one state. (MA a plus but not required). Admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• 12+ years proven intellectual property experience with in–depth early training and broad senior level in–house legal experience, including managing people/teams, managing outside counsel, high volume intellectual property workflow, and experience with small molecules.
• PhD in Chemistry, strongly preferred.
• Intense commitment to high moral standards and business ethics.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve results.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to think strategically and systematically. Ability to manage a large and complex docket independently.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills; ability to synthesize and present clearly complex issues to senior leaders.
• Experience with contested proceedings (i.e Litigation, oppositions, IPRs) a plus.

Kymera Therapeutics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other applicable legally protected characteristics.