Consultant - Pre-Clinical Research and Development (R&D) at World Health Organization

Purpose of consultancy

To contribute to data mining, cleaning and analysis to inform the development of WHO’s 2023 pre-clinical pipeline review of antibacterial treatments

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Contribute to the development of WHO pre-clinical pipeline reviews of antibiotics and antibacterials targeting the WHO bacterial priority pathogens list (WHO BPPL): 
  • Compile product information collected through a WHO data call, desk review and any additional sources into an Excel file. This should include product name, developer, stage (i.e., lead optimization, pre-clinical candidate, Investigational New Drug/Clinical Trial Application-enabling studies), mechanism of action, expected activity against the WHO bacterial priority pathogens list as well as the funder/s for each product. 
  • Perform a desk review study to supplement the data submitted by developers. 
  • Clean, proofread, and verify all data for submission and final validation by the WHO R&D Advisory Group.  
  • Communicate with project partners to verify data quality and complement data gaps in close collaboration with the WHO IRC team. 
  • Submit all data, including verified data set in Excel as well as supporting documents/articles and references, to WHO to be stored for future reference and pipeline report iterations.
• Expected by: May 2023
• Deliverable 2: Contribute to presenting the pre-clinical data collected and the analyses performed and discussing potential outstanding issues. Develop a power-point presentation with the results of the pre-clinical pipeline review. Identify potential areas for discussion. Participate in preparatory pre-meeting calls with the AG Chair.
  Expected by: June 2023
• Deliverable 3: Contribute to drafting sections of the antibacterial pipeline report focused on antibacterial agents in pre-clinical development. Draft sections on methodology, pre-clinical traditional and non-traditional agents, discussion and conclusion, with input from WHO IRC staff and consultants.  
• Expected by: August 2023
• Deliverable 4: Draft a scientific article on antibacterial agents in pre-clinical development based on the above analyses, for submission to relevant peer-reviewed journals/periodicals.

Expected by: September 2023

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced degree (Ph.D) in pharmacology, immune pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, biomedical sciences, microbiology or another relevant area specific to antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease.

Experience

Essential:

• Over 10 years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry developing infectious disease treatments.
• Experience in the drug development process for infectious disease treatments, particularly pre-clinical research.
• Experience in planning and executing pre-clinical and clinical development project plans.

Desirable:

• Experience working for the UN in an international context. 
• Drug development experience that spans across early target identification and validation through to regulatory submissions.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of AMR, infectious diseases research, and drug development.
• Knowledge of key stakeholders working in drug development for infectious disease treatments.
• Proven skills in scientific writing.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.
• Ability to work under pressure with conflicting priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Computer literacy (Microsoft office including Excel, zoom, etc.).

Closing Date: Apr 6, 2023