Careers in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry: Job Classifications and Hiring Needs of the Top Nine Companies

Transcription

1 Careers in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry: Job Classifications and Hiring Needs of the Top Nine Companies, MBS Molly Schmid, Ph.D.

2 Table of Contents Introduction.2 Methodology.. 2 Results and Conclusion. 5 Recommendations... 7 Appendix A. 9 Appendix B...12 Appendix C...14 Endnotes...17 Page 2 of 18

3 Introduction As an established institution that supplies biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with well-educated employees, it is important for Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI) to be knowledgeable about the variety of job opportunities that are offered in the industry. In order to do so, KGI has set out to research and obtain information about current job opportunities that are available within the industry. The goal of the research is to identify the percentage of jobs in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry that fall and do not fall under Research and Development (R&D). In order to achieve the goal, job opportunities within the top nine biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have been analyzed. This information can then be used by KGI for its marketing purposes to prospective students, as well as shared with its current students, alumni and the outside community. Methodology In order to obtain a fair representation of jobs within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, the top nine biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies by 1, 2,3 4 revenue were identified for the research, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2. Top Five Pharmaceutical Revenue (billion $) 2004 Firms Pfizer $47 GlaxoSmithKline $31 Sanofi-Aventis $25 Merck and Co $23 Johnson & Johnson $22 Table 1: Top five pharmaceutical companies by revenue Top Four Biotechnology Firms Revenue (billion $) 2004 Amgen $10 Genentech $4 Biogen IDEC $2 Genzyme Corp $2 Table 2: Top four biotechnology companies by revenue There were only four biotechnology firms examined in the research instead of five. In 2004, Chiron was ranked fifth based on revenues, however it is now a part of the 2, 3, 5 Novartis business. Due to Chiron s business transitions, the company was discounted as part of the assessment. Once the top nine companies were defined, the websites of these companies were 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 accessed in order to view the job opportunities that were posted. Using a Microsoft Excel file, a different worksheet for each company was created and labeled. Job opportunities from each company s website were then captured by Page 3 of 18

4 manually copying and pasting the information onto the Excel worksheet for the respective company. Excel has a function that transfers the copied information from a company s website easily and efficiently into an Excel file. Since each company s website provided information about its job opportunities by using different descriptor fields, the information that was transferring from website to worksheet was carefully left unaltered. Examples of descriptor fields are Department, Location, and Date posted. Each worksheet may contain columns that are labeled with different job descriptor fields. Through these efforts, a job database was created that contains the job opportunities for all nine companies at that period of time from which the websites were accessed. The database contains only the jobs that are full-time and within the United States. Next, five overall categories were determined in which to classify the job opportunities: R&D, Manufacturing, G/A, Regulatory and Sales. The legend provides the definitions of these five categories, along with the different functions and job opportunities that fall within each category. The detailed legend can be found in Appendix A; however Table 3 below provides a brief definition of these five categories. Category R&D Manufacturing G/A Reg Definition R&D (Research & Development) encompasses jobs that include research and development of compounds (PK/PD, biomarkers, crystallization or purification) or medical devices. Job duties in this category also include animal handling and testing, product formulation, and laboratory automation. Manufacturing includes jobs that involve duties associated with the supply chain, fermentation, manufacturing process development, fill/finish, packaging, labeling, and six sigma training and usage. G/A (General/Administrative) consists of jobs that encompass general and administrative duties. However, this category also includes, but is not limited to, jobs that involve IT, programming, finance, legal counsel, strategic development, cross-functionality support, budgets, metrics, administrative logistics, and recruitment. Reg (Regulatory) includes jobs within Regulatory, Quality, and Clinical. Duties within this category can include regulatory submissions, reimbursement strategy development, quality assurance and control of products, technical writing, clinical trial management, validation and verification of products, and statistical analyses. Page 4 of 18

5 Sales Sales includes jobs within Sales and Marketing. Duties within this category can include product sales to physicians or third party buyers, strategic positioning of brand/products within markets, market analyses, new product planning, and competitive intelligence. Table 3: Brief definitions of each five overall categories In order to classify the job opportunities within each company, a column was created in each Excel worksheet that is titled Job function as the field descriptor. The job opportunities were manually sorted through and labeled according to one of the five categories. Many times, a job title was sufficient enough to determine the category in which the job falls. However, there were also times when the job description had to be accessed from the company website and read in order to determine the category in which to classify the job. After all the job opportunities had been classified, five columns were created in each Excel worksheet, one for each of the five overall categories. For each column, the IF statement from the Excel function was used to tally the number of times a job opportunity was labeled according to the five categories. So taking the Manufacturing column as an example, every row where the job function field was labeled as Manufacturing, a 1 would appear. If the job function was one of the other four categories, then a 0 would appear. At the end, Excel s summation function was used to determine the total number of job opportunities that existed in each company, for each category. Once the total number of jobs available in each company was calculated along with the number of jobs available in each category, a statistics sheet was created that contains the overall information on each of the nine biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies analyzed. This statistics sheet can be found in Appendix B. Information on each company includes the following: Total number of jobs Total number of jobs, and percentages, within each of the five categories Total number of non-r&d jobs and percentages Statistical analyses were also performed, and the statistics sheet includes the following information for each company: Mean Standard deviation Median Weighted mean Weighted standard deviation Page 5 of 18

6 Results and Conclusion From all nine pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, there is a total of 3,790 job opportunities altogether. Table 4 gives a detailed breakdown of the number of job opportunities available by company, along with the percentage of jobs available by category in each company. Table 5 shows the total number of job opportunities, and percentages, within each of the five designated categories. A more detailed version of company job statistics can be found in Appendix B. Company Total # Jobs R&D Manufacturing G/A Regulatory Sales Merck % 5.7% 37.6% 15.1% 6.9% Sanofi-Aventis % 3.5% 20.4% 43.1% 26.3% Pfizer % 3.1% 26.3% 19.5% 28.0% J&J % 7.8% 25.4% 24.4% 33.6% GSK % 9.3% 12.9% 19.9% 43.9% Amgen % 26.7% 16.7% 18.9% 34.4% Genentech % 2.0% 34.3% 20.2% 15.2% Biogen IDEC % 11.9% 29.4% 29.9% 10.2% Genzyme % 7.1% 23.4% 39.8% 9.5% Table 4: Number of job opportunities available by company and the percentage of jobs available by job categories in each company Category Number of Job Percentage Opportunities R&D % Manufacturing 266 7% G/A % Regulatory % Sales % TOTAL 3, % Table 5: Number and percentages of job opportunities by job categories After more statistical analyses, Table 6 shows the mean, standard deviation and median (by percent) of job opportunities within each of the five classification categories. Table 7 shows the weighted mean and weighted standard deviation (by percent) of job opportunities within each of the five categories. Page 6 of 18

7 Category Mean and Standard Median Deviation R&D 17.5% % 18.6% Manufacturing 8.6% + 7.5% 7.1% G/A 25.2% + 7.9% 25.4% Regulatory 25.7% + 9.9% 20.2% Sales 23.1% % 26.3% Table 6: Percentages of the mean, standard deviation and median by job categories Category Weighted Mean and Weighted Standard Deviation R&D 16.5% + 9.8% Manufacturing 7.0% + 7.2% G/A 23.9% + 7.6% Regulatory 25.1% + 9.3% Sales 27.4% % Table 7: Percentages of the weighted mean and weighted standard deviation by job categories In order to identify the percentage of jobs in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry that fall and do not fall under R&D, the number of non-r&d (Manufacturing, G/A, Regulatory and Sales) job opportunities are summed together. Table 8 shows the number and percentages of job opportunities that fall within the R&D and non-r&d categories. Category Number of Job Percentage Opportunities R&D % Non-R&D 3, % TOTAL 3, % Table 8: Number and percentages of job opportunities in R&D versus non-r&d Now, the percentage of jobs in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry that fall under the R&D category is 16.5% while the percentage that does not fall under R&D is 83.5%. Table 9 illustrates, by percent, the mean, standard deviation, median, weighted mean and weighted standard deviation of the R&D and non-r&d categories. Category Mean and Standard Median Mean and Standard Deviation Deviation (Weighted) R&D 17.5% % 18.6% 16.5% + 9.8% Non-R&D 82.5% % 81.4% 83.5% + 9.8% Table 9: Mean, standard deviation, median, weighted mean and weighted standard deviation (by percent) of R&D and non-r&d categories Page 7 of 18

8 Table 9 clearly shows by mean and standard deviation that 17.5% % of R&D jobs are within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, while 82.5% % of non- R&D jobs are within the industry. However, the weighted mean and weighted standard deviation show that 16.5% + 9.8% of R&D jobs and 83.5% + 9.8% of non-r&d jobs are within the industry. After the statistical analyses have been conducted, graphs were created of the following in order to elucidate possible trends that the data might hold: Total number of jobs available by company vs. % R&D jobs by company Total number of jobs available by pharmaceutical company vs. % R&D jobs by pharmaceutical company Total number of jobs available by biotechnology company vs. % R&D jobs by biotechnology company These graphs can be seen in Appendix C, Figures 1 3 respectively. Analyses of the graphs show that the total number of jobs available by company is not correlated to the percentage of R&D jobs available by company. There is also no correlation shown when pharmaceutical companies are separated from biotechnology companies in order to illustrate correlation between the total number of jobs available by company to the percentage of R&D jobs by company. Recommendations There are many ways that the outcome of this research can be used in the KGI community. KGI can use this information in its marketing to investors, and most importantly to incoming students, especially those from undergraduate programs. Many students in college are not knowledgeable about job opportunities in the industry that are not R&D. By illustrating that there are clearly more non-r&d jobs than there are R&D jobs in the industry, students can be enticed to pursue an education at KGI. As well, current students can also be educated as to the fair number of job opportunities that are within the industry. The job database can be especially helpful to those who are trying to figure out the kind of job or internship they would like to try and pursue. Not only will current students benefit from the database, the information will help alumni who are looking to switch jobs. The job database can also be a teaching tool for the organizational behavior class that students take during their first year at KGI. In this class, students gain an understanding of how companies are structured and the functional groups or departments that are used to organize and build the infrastructures of the companies. The professor of this class can definitely utilize the job database as a supplement. Not only can the information from this research be used for the KGI community, this information can also be helpful to those outside of the community. Companies within Page 8 of 18

9 the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry may be interested in receiving information about the different types of jobs within their industry. For companies that fall outside of the top nine analyzed, they might be interested in comparing the type of jobs they offer with the jobs offered by the top nine. KGI can also appeal to companies within the industry, especially corporate sponsors, on how KGI students can fulfill the void of non-r&d jobs that make up the majority of job opportunities available. Also, the data can be shared with various undergraduate or graduate institutions in order to help those students in their career searches. Institutions with programs that are similar to that of KGI may benefit the most from this information. Since there is a limited amount of time that this research could be conducted, there are several suggestions as to how this data can be improved. In the future, the job database should be reassessed and trimmed to contain only the type of jobs that KGI students would apply to. There are many jobs in the database right now that are unrelated (such as purely administrative jobs), or unattainable (where years of experience are needed) to KGI students at the time they graduate. A database that is reassessed will help KGI students narrow their job searches for jobs that are entry-level. Also due to time, there is a limitation to the types of companies represented in the job database. The focus was solely on the top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; however there are also many device or diagnostics companies that can be included into the research. As well, more pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can also be added to the database. The database can also be segregated based on the size of the companies in order to find some interesting trends that might emerge. Another point to consider is that the job database at the moment is a snapshot of the job opportunities available during a specific time period. An updated version of the database will be useful in the future since company circumstances, along with industry changes, may affect the types of jobs available. It would also be interesting to examine individual companies and compare their data right now to the data attained in the future. Doing so can allow us to see if the distribution of jobs available is inherent for a particular company, or if the distribution of jobs is a result of the time period in which the data was acquired. Page 9 of 18

10 Appendix A Legend G/A The General/Administrative (G/A) category consists of jobs that encompass general and administrative duties. However, this category also includes, but is not limited to, jobs that involve IT, programming, finance, legal counsel, strategic development, crossfunctionality support, budgets, metrics, administrative logistics, and recruitment. The following are examples of jobs or job functions that are under G/A: Administrative Assistant/Secretarial Information Systems (SAP) Information Technology Legal/General Counsel Business Operations Finance (Tax; Accounting) Project Management Business Development Web-site Development Global Publication Human Resources/Recruitment Public Affairs Logistics Customer Service Manufacturing The Manufacturing category includes jobs that involve duties associated with the supply chain, fermentation, manufacturing process development, fill/finish, packaging, labeling, and six sigma training and usage. The following are examples of jobs or job functions that are under Manufacturing: Six Sigma/Black Belt Supply Chain Fill and Finish CMC Process Engineer Plant Engineer Procurement Operations Packaging Technician Page 10 of 18

11 R&D The Research & Development (R&D) category encompasses jobs that include research and development of compounds (PK/PD, biomarkers, crystallization or purification) or medical devices. Job duties in this category also include animal handling and testing, product formulation, and laboratory automation. The following are examples of jobs or job functions that are under R&D: Chemistry/Biochemistry Biology (Molecular/Cellular/Immunology) Research Fellow/Post Doc Scientist Discovery Biologics System Engineer Product Engineer Research Engineer Veterinarian Pre-clinical Development Product Formulation Lab Automation Reg The Reg category includes jobs within Regulatory, Quality, and Clinical. Duties within this category can include regulatory submissions, reimbursement strategy development, quality assurance and control of products, technical writing, clinical trial management, validation and verification of products, and statistical analyses. The following are examples of jobs or job functions that are under Reg: Clinical Trial Management Medical Writer Outcomes Specialist Regulatory Specialist/Associate/Assistant Risk Management Clinical Director/Associate Scientific/Medical/Clinical Affairs QA/QC Reimbursement/Pricing Documentation Validation/Verification Engineer Nurses/Physicians Biostatisticians/Statisticians Page 11 of 18

12 Sales The Sales category includes jobs within Sales and Marketing. Duties within this category can include product sales to physicians or third party buyers, strategic positioning of brand/products within markets, market analyses, new product planning, and competitive intelligence. The following are examples of jobs or job functions that are under Sales: Product Development Sales Representative Territory/District Manager Account Manager Marketing Director Market Analyst Brand Manager Marketing Communications Competitive Intelligence Commercial Development Page 12 of 18

13 Appendix B Overall Statistics Sheet Keck Graduate Institute Total # of Jobs R&D Manufacturin g G/A Reg/Qual/Cli n Sales/Marketin g Non R&D Grouped Merck (P) % 5.7% 37.6% 15.1% 6.9% 65.3% Sanofi-Aventis (P) % 3.5% 20.4% 43.1% 26.3% 93.3% Pfizer (P) % 3.1% 26.3% 19.5% 28.0% 76.9% J&J (P) % 7.8% 25.4% 24.4% 33.6% 91.3% GSK (P) % 9.3% 12.9% 19.9% 43.9% 86.1% Amgen (B) % 26.7% 16.7% 18.9% 34.4% 96.7% Genentech (B) % 2.0% 34.3% 20.2% 15.2% 71.7% Biogen Idec (B) % 11.9% 29.4% 29.9% 10.2% 81.4% Page 13 of 18

14 Genzyme (B) % 7.1% 23.4% 39.8% 9.5% 79.8% Total % 7.0% 24.0% 25.0% 27.0% 83.5% Mean % 8.6% 25.2% 25.7% 23.1% 82.5% Standard Deviation % 7.5% 7.9% 9.9% 13.2% 10.4% Median % 7.1% 25.4% 20.2% 26.3% 81.4% Weighted Mean 16.5% 7.0% 23.9% 25.1% 27.4% 83.5% Weighted SD 9.8% 7.2% 7.6% 9.3% 13.1% 9.8% Page 14 of 18

15 Appendix C Graphs Total # Jobs Available vs. % R&D Jobs 40.0% 35.0% Percent R&D (by company) 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% R 2 = % 0.0% Total # of Jobs Available (by company) Figure 1: Total # of jobs available by company vs. % R&D jobs by company Page 15 of 18

16 Pharmaceutical: Total # Jobs Available vs. % R&D Jobs 40.0% Percent R&D (by pharma company) 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% R 2 = Total # of Jobs Available (by pharma company) Figure 2: Total # of jobs available by pharmaceutical company vs. % R&D jobs by pharmaceutical company Page 16 of 18

17 Biotechnology: Total # Jobs Available vs. % R&D Jobs 30.0% Percent R&D (by biotech company) 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% R 2 = % Total # of Jobs Available (by biotech company) Figure 3: Total # of jobs available by biotechnology company vs. % R&D jobs by biotechnology company Page 17 of 18

18 Endnotes 1 IMS Health Applications. IMS 2004 World Review Analyst, May Available on 2 Yahoo Finance, Boston Analytics. U.S. Biotechnology Industry Analysis Excerpts, January Gray, Nicole. Untying the Gordian Knot. Pharmaceutical Executive, May Available on 5 Chiron. Available on July 14, Pfizer. Available on July 14, GlaxoSmithKline. Available on July 14, Sanofi-Aventis. Available on July 14, Merck and Co. Available on July 12, Johnson & Johnson. Available on July 14, Amgen. Available on July 14, Genentech. Available on July 14, Biogen IDEC. Available on July 14, Genzyme Corp. Available on July 14, Page 18 of 18