Ipsen Biopharm Ltd Posted September 25, 2026

Principal Scientist

Wrexham, United Kingdom Full time
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Ipsen Biopharm Ltd is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Title:

Principal Scientist

Company:

Ipsen Biopharm Ltd

About Ipsen:

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.

Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!

For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/   and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram .

Job Description:

Principal Scientist - Cell Line Development & Upstream Process Development

Location: Wrexham, UK (Hybrid Working)

Contract: Permanent

Travel: Occasional travel (European)

Shape the Future of Biologics at Ipsen

At Ipsen, we're passionate about advancing innovative medicines that make a meaningful difference to patients' lives. We are seeking an experienced Principal Scientist to join our Bioprocess Sciences team and provide scientific and technical leadership across Cell Line Development (CLD) and Upstream Process Development (USP) activities.

This is an exciting opportunity for a senior biologics development professional to lead critical Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development programmes, working with cutting-edge technologies and collaborating with global teams across our international network.

The Opportunity

As Principal Scientist, you will act as a recognised subject matter expert, leading the development and optimisation of cell line and upstream manufacturing processes for biologic products from candidate selection through to commercial manufacturing.

A key focus of the role will be driving upstream process development activities using mammalian and/or microbial cell lines, supporting multiple development programmes while providing technical leadership and mentorship to junior scientists. You will play an integral role within cross-functional CMC teams, partnering with internal stakeholders and external Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs) to ensure successful programme delivery.

This position offers exposure to a diverse biologics pipeline and the opportunity to influence development strategy across multiple projects while collaborating with colleagues throughout Ipsen's global organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Cell Line Development and Upstream Process Development strategies across biologics development programmes.

Provide scientific leadership for CMC development projects from early development through commercialisation.

Act as a subject matter expert for CLD and USP activities, supporting technical decision-making across programmes.

Drive innovation and continuous improvement to enhance process productivity, robustness and product quality.

Represent Upstream Process Development within multidisciplinary CMC teams.

Collaborate with internal stakeholders and external CMOs to support development, scale-up and technology transfer activities.

Contribute to regulatory submissions and technical documentation.

Conduct technical assessments for new product opportunities and in-licensing activities.

Mentor, coach and develop junior scientists, fostering a culture of scientific excellence.

  

About You

We're looking for a scientifically driven leader with strong biologics development experience and the ability to influence across complex, matrixed environments.

 

Essential Experience & Skills

Significant pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience within biologics development.

Deep expertise in Cell Line Development and/or Upstream Process Development.

Strong experience working with CHO cell lines and mammalian cell culture processes.

Experience leading CMC development activities across the product lifecycle.

Proven ability to work effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and external partners.

Experience engaging with and managing activities CDMOs

Strong communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.

 

Desirable

PhD in a relevant scientific discipline (or equivalent industry experience).

Experience supporting regulatory submissions and technology transfer activities.

Experience progressing biologic products from early to late-stage development and commercialisation.

Demonstrated mentoring, coaching or leadership experience within scientific teams.

Why Join Ipsen?

At Ipsen, you'll be part of a collaborative and innovative organisation where science drives meaningful patient outcomes. We offer:

Flexible hybrid working.

Opportunities to collaborate with international teams across the UK, Ireland and France.

Exposure to a diverse and exciting biologics pipeline.

A culture that values scientific excellence, innovation and continuous learning.

The opportunity to mentor others while continuing to develop your own career within a global biopharmaceutical company.

If you're an experienced biologics scientist looking to make a significant impact across Cell Line Development, Upstream Process Development and CMC programmes, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and help shape the future of biologics at Ipsen.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and supported; where we embrace “The Real Us”. The value we place on different perspectives and experiences drives our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities. When we include diverse ways of thinking, we make more thoughtful decisions and discover more innovative solutions. Together we strive to better understand the communities we serve. This means we also want to help you perform at your best when applying for a role with us. If you require any adjustments or support during the application process, please let the recruitment team know. This information will be handled with care and will not affect the outcome of your application.

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Wrexham, United Kingdom
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 449 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 53 biopharma companies.

449Comparable roles tracked
426Currently active
53Companies hiring similar roles
20Countries represented

Salary context

218 of 449 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Animal Behaviorist - Primate · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $322,000 (median $169,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 449 comparable roles

United States334
China22
India16
United Kingdom10
Germany9
Belgium9

+ 14 more countries

Seniority mix

449 of 449 peers have a known seniority level

Senior217
Principal171
Director61

Therapeutic area mix

58 of 449 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology19
Immunology19
Neuroscience13
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Respiratory1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
AbbVie Oxford, ENGLAND Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
MiroBio Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
UCB Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
BMS Pharmaceuticals Ltd Moreton, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
IQVIA Cambridge, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United Kingdom, and choose locations and companies.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Principal Research Scientist I, Novel Therapeutics
AbbVie · Oxford, ENGLAND · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Scientist, Immunogenicity and Ligand Binding Assays
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd · Oxford, United Kingdom · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Scientist
UCB · Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Senior Technical Specialist - DMPK
IQVIA · Cambridge, United Kingdom · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.