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Santaris Pharma A/S is a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies. The Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform and Drug Discovery Engine developed by Santaris Pharma A/S combine the Company’s proprietary LNA chemistry with its highly specialized and targeted drug development capabilities to rapidly deliver potent single-stranded LNA-based drug candidates across a multitude of disease states. The Company’s research and development activities focus on infectious diseases and metabolic disorders, while partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies include a range of therapeutic areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and rare genetic disorders. The Company has strategic partnerships with miRagen Therapeutics, Shire plc, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Enzon Pharmaceuticals.
Santaris Pharma A/S, founded in 2003, is headquartered in Denmark with operations in the United States.
Job Listings
Two combined Masters/PhD positions in microRNA therapeutics available at Santaris Pharma A/S
Funded by the EU FP7 Marie Curie IAPP program CardiomiR
Do you have an inquisitive mindset, strong interest in miRNA and would you like to work at the ultimate forefront of miRNA research and the search for better medicines? If so, we offer two combined Masters/PhD projects as part of the CardiomiR program between Santaris Pharma, University of Maastricht, and GIGA/University of Liège funded by the EU FP7 Marie Curie Industrial-Academia Programme. The miRNA projects will start in March-April 2012 with a 12-month Masters project in the miRNA Research Dept at Santaris Pharma, followed by a 3-year joint PhD project with 1.5-2 years of work at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Given their highly diverse biological functions and important roles in human diseases, miRNAs have emerged as new exciting targets for therapeutics. Santaris Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative RNA-targeted medicines based on its proprietary LNA (locked nucleic acid) drug platform. The company’s LNA-modified antimiR compounds are designed to effectively inhibit disease-associated miRNAs. Recent data from the first phase 2 study in hepatitis C-infected patients treated with the antimiR-122 drug miravirsen showed that this compound is well tolerated and provides long-lasting suppression of viremia in patients (for more information, see Elmén et al. Nature 2008, Lanford et al. Science 2010, Obad et al. Nat. Genet. 2011, Stenvang et al. Silence 2012 and www.santaris.com).
Projects: The goal of the two projects is to discover novel miRNAs implicated in heart failure induced by the metabolic risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia), to unravel their biological functions, and to assess their therapeutic potential in the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. As part of the projects, the students will develop LNA-based antimiRs for pharmacological inhibition of cardiometabolic miRNAs in animal models of metabolic risk induced heart failure and ocular diseases.
Qualifications:
• Knowledge about cell culture and molecular biology techniques and omics platforms
• Highly motivated, ambitious and strong interest in miRNA biology
• Good communication skills and a wish to become part of a highly dynamic research team
We offer:
• The opportunity to join a unique, high quality research team, in which pharmaceutical and academic goals are pursued with equal vigour in close collaboration with miRNA research labs around the world
• Excellent laboratory facilities and direct access to state-of-the-art equipment
Your application: Qualified candidates should send an application and CV to Susanna Obad by e-mail to suo@santaris.com. The application should be received no later than March 15, 2012. Further information can be obtained from Sakari Kauppinen, Professor and Senior Director of microRNA Research at sk@santaris.com, tel. 20 47 79 94 or Susanna Obad, Group Leader, microRNA Drug Discovery, tel. 23 80 37 48.
If you are interested in job opportunities and would like to play a role in an exciting company with an enormous potential, please send a job application to info@santaris.com or to:
Santaris Pharma A/S
c/o Bolette Wildt
VP of HR & Legal Affairs
Kogle Allé 6
DK 2970 Hørsholm
