Senior Patent Associate

Job Description PopVax is an Indian full-stack biotech building first-in-class and best-in-class vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using machine learning-driven design and relentless empiricism. We design, develop, and manufacture our own RNA medicines end-to-end because we believe great pharmaceutical science can only flourish in tight feedback loops that iterate rapidly. PopVax's experimental work and clinical dose production is based at the RNA Foundry, our integrated R&D and GMP-capable clinical dose production facility in Hyderabad. PopVax's north star is our goal of developing novel vaccines and therapeutics over the next decade with the cumulative ability to save 1 million lives each year the Million Lives Mission. To that end, we are developing first-in-class vaccines against Hepatitis C Virus, Strep A, and adult pulmonary TB, broadly-protective best-in-class vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, and HPV, and precision immunotherapies against hard-to-treat solid tumours such as liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Our work is funded by Vitalik Buterin's Balvi Fund, the Gates Foundation, the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and Renaissance Philanthropy. Our first vaccine program will begin a Phase I clinical trial in the US in mid-2026 conducted & sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We intend to put 6 novel vaccines and immunotherapies into Phase I clinical trials over the next 3 years. No matter the job title, each person's role at PopVax is ultimately focused on helping take safe & effective new medicines that represent a step-change improvement on the current standard-of-care to the people who need them as fast as possible. If you want to work where the ambition is high, the learning curve is steep, and the work matters to billions, you'll feel at home here. If you're excited by the idea of advancing scientific, clinical, and regulatory frontiers of vaccines and immunotherapies, spending each day developing medicines with the potential to save millions of lives, and building a generational global pharmaceutical company in India along the way join us We seek a creative, detail-oriented, scientifically grounded Senior Patent Associate to help translate our cutting-edge research into developing strong patent assets and support product development mindful of the evolving patent landscape. This is a unique opportunity to join our IP team in Hyderabad to contribute to and execute our patent strategies. The work will be intellectually challenging, and the hours may sometimes be long, but there will not be a moment of boredom. Primary Responsibilities Will Include - Conducting patentability, freedom-to-operate, validity/invalidity, & state-of-the-art searches, including bio-sequence searches, on paid and free databases, and preparing search reports - Identifying and preparing literature reviews, technological trends, and competitive intelligence reports - Performing infringement analysis and preparing claim charts and maps - Identifying FTO issues proactively - Providing support in drafting and prosecuting patent applications - Interacting with multidisciplinary teams involving R&D, Manufacturing, Clinical and Regulatory, and providing IP support The ideal candidate will possess the following qualificationsand skills: - A Master's degree in biotechnology or a similar field is required. - 2-4 years of core experience in searching in the biotechnology domain, including bio-sequence searching, is required. - Experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications is desirable but not mandatory. - A good understanding of US and European patent laws and the regulatory environment - Strong analytical skills to rapidly review and evaluate technical information to gather actionable insights with attention to detail - The ability to work well in a team as well as independently pursue tasks and projects, when necessary, without close supervision - Complete fluency in English, with excellent oral and written communication skills, and an eye for detail - The ability to work in a highly demanding and dynamic environment under challenging timelines We nurture a collaborative work environment focused on solving the cutting-edge multidisciplinary challenges of our novel mRNA platform and, more importantly, provide a platform to work at the frontiers of multiple therapeutic areas. And we offer competitive compensation and comprehensive health insurance covering immediate family (including pre-existing conditions).