Director, Medical Communications

Definium Therapeutics; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 180,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company-paid health coverage

401(k) with company match

Flexible time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Definium Therapeutics seeks a senior Medical Communications lead to develop and execute integrated communication strategies aligned with Medical Affairs priorities and evidence-generation plans. You will oversee scientific narratives, slides, presentations, and educational content across disease areas, ensuring accuracy and impact.

The role requires guiding medical training programs, coordinating with regulatory and legal reviews, and managing external agencies to deliver high-quality outputs.

Qualifications

• Advanced scientific degree in a relevant discipline.
• Minimum of 7 years in pharmaceutical/biotech or related healthcare industry.
• Experience developing medical communication strategies and materials.
• Experience developing scientific training resources for Medical Affairs or other internal audiences.
• Experience participating in medical, legal, regulatory, or promotional review processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing medical communication agencies, vendors, budgets, and scopes of work.
• Strong scientific writing, editing, presentation, and data-interpretation skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated medical communication strategies aligned with Medical Affairs priorities, evidence-generation plans, data dissemination, and launch readiness.
• Lead the development and maintenance of medical narratives, core medical messages, communication plans, and foundational scientific content.
• Translate complex clinical and scientific information into clear, balanced communications for diverse audiences.
• Develop medical training materials and programs supporting new data, congresses, regulatory milestones, and launch readiness.
• Partner with Medical Affairs colleagues to ensure communications address relevant scientific and educational needs.

Skills

Strong scientific writing

Data interpretation

Cross-functional leadership

Presentation skills

Influence stakeholders

Education

PharmD/PhD/MD or equivalent

Tools

Veeva Vault

Medical content-management platforms

Job description

Definium Therapeutics is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company and our mission is to forge a new era of psychiatry by applying scientific rigor to psychedelics, with the goal of developing accessible treatments that unlock healing at scale.

Our lead product candidate, lysergide tartrate (our proprietary orally disintegrating tablet form of lysergide (LSD) D-tartrate), represents a highly differentiated, potential best-in-class opportunity for patients suffering from generalized anxiety, major depressive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Our early stage pipeline includes DT402, the R-enantiomer of MDMA and is under development to target the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specifically addressing social communication challenges.

Guided by the recognition that patients deserve more than better, Definium is relentlessly advancing a new generation of therapeutics intended to address the underlying causes of psychiatric and neurological disorders. By turning evidence into impact, Definium aims to change the trajectory of today's mental health care crisis and enable a healthier future. Headquartered in New York, Definium Therapeutics trades on Nasdaq under the symbol DFTX.

Together we are moving psychiatry forward—beyond better, into a boundless future. Join us!

Responsibilities

Medical Communications Strategy

• Develop and execute integrated medical communication strategies aligned with Medical Affairs priorities, evidence-generation plans, data dissemination, and launch readiness
• Lead the development and maintenance of scientific narratives, core medical messages, communication plans, and foundational scientific content
• Identify scientific communication and education needs based on emerging data, stakeholder needs, insights, and changes in the treatment landscape
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure scientific evidence is communicated consistently, accurately, and appropriately across audiences and channels

Medical Communications and Training

• Lead the development and maintenance of medical communication materials, including scientific slide decks, clinical data presentations, disease-state resources, scientific FAQs, congress materials, visual summaries, and other educational content
• Translate complex clinical and scientific information into clear, balanced, and audience-appropriate communications
• Develop scientific training materials and programs supporting new data, congresses, medical strategy, regulatory milestones, and launch readiness
• Partner with Medical Affairs colleagues and subject matter experts to ensure communications and training address relevant scientific and educational needs
• Maintain consistency across medical communication deliverables through effective use of scientific narratives, core content, references, and approved terminology
• Apply adult-learning and audience-centered communication principles to improve the clarity and effectiveness of educational materials

Medical Review

• Serve as backup medical reviewer for medical and promotional materials, ensuring scientific accuracy, appropriate balance, consistency with available evidence, and compliance with company policies
• Facilitate the timely review and approval of content through applicable medical, legal, regulatory, and compliance review processes
• Partner with Regulatory, Legal, Compliance, Commercial, and Medical Affairs colleagues to resolve scientific questions and support compliant execution
• Help establish and improve standards and processes for content development, referencing, review, approval, version control, and material retirement

Vendor Management

• Select, onboard, and manage existing medical communication agencies, scientific writers, training partners, and other external vendors
• Provide clear strategic direction and ensure vendor deliverables meet expectations for scientific quality, audience relevance, timing, and cost
• Manage scopes of work, budgets, timelines, risks, and competing priorities across multiple projects
• Establish effective agency working models and performance expectations to support efficient and high-quality execution

Qualifications

• Advanced scientific degree, such as a PharmD, PhD, MD, or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline
• Minimum of 7 years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related healthcare industry experience, including experience in Medical Affairs, medical communications, scientific communications, or scientific training
• Demonstrated experience developing medical communication strategies, scientific narratives, and medical communication materials
• Experience developing scientific training and educational resources for Medical Affairs or other internal audiences
• Experience participating in or facilitating medical, legal, regulatory, or promotional review processes
• Demonstrated experience managing medical communication agencies, vendors, budgets, and scopes of work
• Strong scientific writing, editing, presentation, and data-interpretation skills Ability to translate complex scientific information into clear and audience-appropriate communications
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders without direct authority
• Ability to operate strategically and independently while remaining willing to directly develop and advance high-priority deliverables
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, growing biotechnology environment with evolving priorities
• Experience supporting late-stage development, prelaunch planning, or product launch preferred
• Psychiatry, neuroscience, or central nervous system experience preferred Experience with Veeva Vault, medical content-management platforms, or related technologies preferred.
• Willingness to travel approximately 15–20%, as needed

The starting base pay range for this position is $180,000.00 - $235,000. Compensation will be determined based on several factors, including relevant experience, skills, education, and geographic location.

Employees in this role may be eligible for additional compensation, including bonus and equity.

Definium provides competitive employee benefits, including company-paid health coverage, a 401(k) program with company match, flexible time off, generous parental leave, and additional employee benefits.