By Maureen Martino*
Since 2001, 300,000 pharma
employees have lost their jobs, primarily in R&D and sales. That's
according to Clifford Mintz, the founder of BioInsights, which develops and
offers bioscience education and training. Mintz spoke at a session on new job
opportunities in biotech and pharma at the annual AAPS meeting in
Washington, D.C. While the losses have been steep, they're balanced by
emerging, in-demand careers in the industry.
The industry's struggles are
well-known: Many companies are facing loss of exclusivity on their biggest
sellers but have little in the pipeline to pick up the slack. Productivity is
dropping as the cost of bringing a new drug to market soars. Government and
payors want more effective drugs for less money. The list goes on.
Developers are looking to new
markets and new technologies to address these issues. But how do these trends
play out for the pharma job seeker? Many people, particularly Ph.D.s, may have
to consider getting additional training if they want to land their dream job.
"Companies used to be willing to just hire smart people. But with the economic
downturn and global competition, companies can no longer afford to invest in
people who have promise. They need to see proven skills," Mintz explained.
With the right blend of skills and experience, however, there still some pharma
jobs that are in demand.
Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs
"Clinical research is the
lifeblood of the industry," Mintz said. As developers expand in
emerging markets, there's a particular demand for people to manage and organize
overseas clinical trials. "There's a huge need for clinical research
professionals worldwide," he said, noting that most Phase I and II trials
are conducted outside of the U.S.
Another one of the industry's
perennial needs is regulatory affairs professionals. "Regulatory affairs
experience is a skill that all companies large and small would die to get their
hands on," explained Mintz. The increasingly complex and uncertain world
of FDA regulation--particularly when it comes to new technology and
science--means that companies are always on the prowl for individuals with
solid regulatory knowledge and ability to interact with the FDA.
Biomanufacturing
The pharma industry's interest
in biologics remains strong--just look at Sanofi's buyout of Genzyme, or
Roche's purchase of Genentech. They're lured by disease-altering biologics that
are less likely to face generic competition than traditional drugs. As a
result, there's been increased demand for professionals who can navigate the
complex world of biomanufacturing. Those with a background in upstream and
downstream processes, large-scale protein purification, fermentation technology
and bioengineering can make the transition to biomanufacturing.
Healthcare Information Technology
The rise of bioinformatics and
genomics coupled with the push for electronic medical records has created jobs
in healthcare information technology. Health informatics--the intersection
of healthcare and IT--is ideal for people with expertise in genomics,
bioinformatics or software that understand how to work with and manipulate
large data sets and databases. The Obama administration has made EHRs a
priority, and there's a need for software engineers and biologists who are
comfortable working with medical information.
Medical Devices
"The medical devices
industry has been experiencing explosive growth for the past decade,"
Mintz said. Regulatory hurdles in the medical device industry are much lower
than they are for biologics or small molecules, making the industry a more
stable alternative to biotech and pharma. The demand for devices, which
address problems that can't be treated with medicine, will continue to grow as
the population ages. Job seekers with strong backgrounds in
bioinformatics, genomics, engineering and translational medicine are best
suited to this field.
Medical
Communications
Medical communications--which
includes medical writing, editing, graphic design and science
journalism--continues to boom. The demand for these jobs has risen because
companies need a slew of communication materials to send to patients,
physicians, researchers, investigators and the general public about their
products and business.
Patent Law and Technology Transfer
Recent changes to U.S. patent
laws have increased the demand for patent agents and patent attorneys in the
life sciences field. Pharma's growing reliance on basic research from
learning institutions means that there's a need for technology transfer
experts. These experts manage the patent estate and intellectual property of
universities and colleges that may engage in licensing deals with the industry.
A law degree is a must to compete in this field.
*Maureen Martino is the managing editor of the FierceMarkets Life Sciences
group and a contributor to FierceBiotech
and FierceMedicalDevices.