About us

Philogen is a Swiss-Italian integrated biotechnology company founded in 1996 with the mission of developing innovative biopharmaceuticals for targeted therapy (http://www.philogen.com). Philochem AG, located in Zurich, is the research and development division of the Philogen Group, while Philogen-Siena focuses on product optimisation, GMP-compliant manufacturing, and clinical development.

The master’s thesis will be carried out at Philochem within the Small Molecule Therapeutics research unit and will contribute to ongoing projects in medicinal chemistry and targeted drug discovery. The project will involve the synthesis and screening of DNA-encoded libraries against targets of pharmaceutical interest, together with the resynthesis, purification, and characterisation of selected hits.

Your Role

We are seeking an enthusiastic master’s student with a background in chemistry, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical biology, or a related field. The student will gain hands-on experience in modern drug discovery technologies and contribute to the identification and development of small-molecule ligands and innovative therapeutic conjugates.

The experiments will be carried out in our laboratories (Otelfingen, CH-8112 – Kanton Zürich). The student will be trained to:

• Perform the synthesis and screening of DNA-encoded libraries against targets of pharmaceutical interest.
• Perform organic synthesis and characterization of small molecules of interest in the search for novel drug candidates for diagnostic and therapeutic oncology applications.
• In vitro evaluation of synthesized compounds with possibility to expand to in vivo models.
• Prepare and deliver scientific presentations.
• Write scientific reports and the master thesis.

Minimum requirements

• Enrolled in a Master Degree in chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or related disciplines.
• Passion and curiosity to perform the synthesis and bio/chemical characterisation of organic compounds.
• Understanding of modern analytic techniques (HPLC, LC-MS) and interpretation of results obtained by NMR spectroscopy.
• Proficiency in data analysis and editing software (i.e., Excel, Word, Power point).
• Experience in performing literature searches using chemistry databases (PubMed, SciFinder, Reaxys) and in applying the results to solve synthetic challenges in the lab.
• Fluency in oral and written English.

We anticipate to start your thesis period with us in March 2027.

Applications need to include the candidate’s CV and a letter of motivation