Head of Program Lead
About the job
- A scientific background with a PhD in Chemistry or Biology, or an MD, PharmD, or engineering qualification.
- Experience in life sciences consulting, past or current, focused on asset positioning or research and development portfolio management.
- Strong analytical depth and strategic thinking.
- Leadership and people management capabilities, including experience managing, hiring, and developing talent.
- Communication and stakeholder management capabilities.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity.
- Curiosity, quick learning, and problem-solving ability.
- Organization and adaptability in a fast-paced, evolving setting.
- Ensure programs remain relevant, focused, and outcome-oriented throughout their lifecycle.
- Critically challenge scientific reasoning and technological applications to ensure rigor and relevance.
- Facilitate technology use and change management.
- Conduct regular 360-degree program assessments incorporating key performance indicators, Program Leaders team and stakeholder input, and market insights.
- Recommend program continuation, acceleration, or discontinuation based on robust, data-driven evaluation.
- Lead resource allocation discussions to support optimal deployment of talent, capital, and time.
- Provide structured progress reporting to leadership to support decision-making and prioritization.
- Support the design, harmonization, and implementation of standardized methodologies for program governance, planning, and execution.
- Champion best practices and continuous improvement across programs.
- Ensure programs comply with internal processes and applicable external regulatory or industry requirements.
- Lead, unite, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of Program Leaders.
- Define role expectations, support development plans, and foster accountability and collaboration.
- Drive talent acquisition to build and scale the program management team in line with organizational needs.
- Experience in a startup biotech or contract research organization (CRO) is a plus.
About the company
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Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$124.9M
Headquarters
Paris, France
Founded
2019
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Aqemia’s Sanofi deal reached up to $140 million in upfront and milestone payments.
- Paris and London offices, plus 2026 hiring plans, expand scientific recruiting capacity.
- January 2026 JPM materials said leading programs showed enhanced efficacy in animal studies.
What critics are saying
- Sanofi dominates revenue validation; any 2027 pullback hits cash flow and credibility.
- Aqemia still lacks clinical assets, so failed preclinical optimization delays value creation.
- If clinical translation stalls through 2026, Aqemia becomes a services vendor, not a drugmaker.
What makes Aqemia unique
- QEMI combines generative AI with quantum-inspired physics, not structure-only screening.
- July 2026 Sanofi expansion validated Aqemia’s platform with a new target and payments.
- France 2030 funded RNA programs, extending Aqemia beyond proteins into harder targets.
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Benefits
Remote Work Options
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
1%1 year growth
1%2 year growth
0%Aqemia to participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference 2025. November 11th, 2025 | Business Wire LONDON - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Aqemia, a pioneering TechBio company combining generative AI and quantum-inspired physics to invent drugs, announces that Maximilien Levesque, CEO and co-founder, and Théa Vu-Bignand, VP Finance, will attend the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, taking place in London from November 17 - 20, 2025. With its physics-based generative AI platform for therapeutic molecule invention, QEMI, Aqemia can design novel drug candidates in a repeatable, frugal, and scalable way, with the ambition to deliver new therapies faster to patients who currently lack effective treatments, particularly in oncology. In this perspective, Aqemia remains focused on building value through its internal preclinical pipeline while forging partnerships that validate its platform and scientific edge. About Aqemia Aqemia is a drug invention company dedicated to creating novel molecules to address unmet medical needs. Its proprietary QEMI platform combines more than 12 years of physics-based research with state-of-the-art generative AI, enabling the launch of preclinical programs without relying on experimental data and accelerating discovery from day one. Aqemia's portfolio spans oncology, immunology, neurology, and cardiology, and includes both wholly owned programs and partnered programs with leading pharmaceutical companies, such as a multi-year, $150M strategic collaboration with Sanofi. The company's most advanced preclinical programs are currently undergoing in vivo optimization. Headquartered in Paris with an office in London, Aqemia has raised over $100 million since its inception.
Aqemia to participate in Jefferies European Disruptive Tech Conference. LONDON - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Aqemia, a pioneering TechBio company leveraging advanced physics and generative AI for drug discovery, announced that its CEO and co-founder, Maximilien Levesque, will participate in the European Disruptive Tech Conference hosted by Jefferies in London on October 9, 2025. Within the TechBio track, Dr. Levesque will join the HealthTech Panel, scheduled for 13:00 BST. About Aqemia Aqemia is a drug invention company dedicated to creating novel molecules to address unmet medical needs. Its proprietary QEMI platform combines more than 12 years of physics-based research with state-of-the-art generative AI, enabling the launch of preclinical programs without relying on experimental data and accelerating discovery from day one. Aqemia's portfolio spans oncology, immunology, neurology, and cardiology, and includes both wholly owned programs and partnered programs with leading pharmaceutical companies, such as a multi-year, $150M strategic collaboration with Sanofi. The company's most advanced preclinical programs are currently undergoing in vivo optimization. Headquartered in Paris with an office in London, Aqemia has raised over $100 million since its inception.
Aqemia has announced a $7.4 million grant from the France 2030 investment plan to accelerate its work in RNA-targeted drug discovery. The funding will support the expansion of its generative AI platform—originally developed for protein targets—to address the complexity of RNA structures and RNA-modifying enzymes.
Paris-based Aqemia received a $7.4M grant through the France 2030 plan to enhance its generative AI platform for RNA-based drug discovery. The funding will help Aqemia target flexible proteins and RNA, aiming to reduce drug discovery time from 5-6 years to under two. The company, founded in 2019, combines AI and quantum-inspired algorithms to accelerate drug development, with a total capital of $125.4M. Aqemia plans to double its workforce by 2026.
Biotech Aqemia has received a $7.4M grant to expand and and accelerate of its computational platform to target RNA therapeutics, marking a significant step in the company’s broader mission to innovate drug discovery using generative AI.The grant is awarded as part of the "France 2030" initiative. It will specifically bolster the company’s generative AI platform, enhancing its ability to handle the complex, flexible structures of RNA and proteins. Aqemia plans to use this funding to explore RNA and RNA-modifying targets experimentally, refining its AI-driven approach and furthering its capabilities in drug discovery.The company’s physics-enabled generative AI engine, which has already delivered success in epitranscriptomics, is now poised to make strides in targeting RNA, a highly complex class of therapeutic targets.In parallel to advancing its RNA-focused initiatives, Aqemia continues to make progress in its broader pipeline, including drug discovery programs targeting proteins. The company is positioning itself to develop novel small-molecule drugs aimed at RNA, which represents an emerging and promising class of therapeutic targets.The flexibility and structural complexity of RNA have long made it a challenging target for therapeutic development. Despite these challenges, RNA plays a crucial role in gene regulation and expression, especially in diseases such as cancer, making it an important target for innovative drug discovery. With its generative AI platform, Aqemia is looking to overcome the obstacles traditionally associated with RNA-targeting drug discovery.Dr