{"id":1712,"date":"2017-02-10T15:44:56","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T15:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2020-02-06T18:09:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T18:09:35","slug":"biotech-talent-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/biotech-talent-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"How can biotech companies fill in the talent gap?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Biotechnology, as is the case with many fields today, is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Once requiring a specific set of specialized skills, the industry trends now show that individuals with interdisciplinary training are favored. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nbt\/journal\/v31\/n9\/full\/nbt.2694.html\">report published in Nature<\/a> depicts that a large part of job postings not only include specialized subjects like chemistry, but also involve knowledge in validation, data management and good manufacturing practices. Often, it may not be possible for labs to recruit this talent in-house, and so the on-demand market is continuously growing.<\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1713 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/nbt.2694-F2.jpg\" alt=\"nbt.2694-F2\" width=\"946\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/nbt.2694-F2.jpg 946w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/nbt.2694-F2-300x127.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/nbt.2694-F2-768x326.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/nbt.2694-F2-300x127@2x.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><em>Source:<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nbt\/journal\/v31\/n9\/fig_tab\/nbt.2694_F2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nbt\/journal\/v31\/n9\/fig_tab\/nbt.2694_F2.html<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">A recent Forbes report finds that mid-level R&amp;D talent is notoriously hard to attract, and it is this talent that determines the organisation&#8217;s success. The bulk of biotech talent is recruited from big pharma companies. Typically, researchers in pharma companies are rigorously trained, and they have the advantage of time that is often doesn&#8217;t exist in biotech firms. This issue is summarized <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/brucebooth\/2014\/05\/19\/talent-acquisition-pharma-is-the-lifeblood-of-biotech\/#7f88e98f50ca\">here<\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">&#8220;The short version of the dilemma is this: biotech startups have no margin for error around very tight timelines so can\u2019t really \u201ctrain\u201d folks in drug discovery, and because of that they rely on bigger companies as the principle source for talent; but, at the same time, bigger firms are cutting back on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/ensuring-reproducibility-in-ai-driven-research-how-freelance-experts-can-help-in-biotech-and-healthcare\/\">research<\/a> hiring and training, in part while offshoring certain science roles to other geographies, and yet are looking \u201coutside\u201d their walls for innovation from biotechs.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">Some of the recruitment problems faced by biotech companies, as outlined <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/frankdavid\/2015\/04\/06\/biotechs-rd-talent-opportunity\/#15afc4db44b8\">here<\/a>, are: \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">-Hiring adequately trained and experienced mid-level talent\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">-Meeting the compensation packages offered for equivalent roles in the pharma industry\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">-Offering a better level of control to new hires\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><br \/>\nThis talent crisis is not just limited to researchers. Of late, biotech companies have even been attracting <a href=\"https:\/\/lifescivc.com\/2016\/07\/life-street-biotech-winning-wall-street-talent\/\">Wall Street&#8217;s top talent<\/a>, including investment bankers. There is no doubt about the phenomenal possibilities that biotech holds, and the future it promises. Most of the Wall Street-ers who made the shift did so because of their belief in the industry, because it was an exciting enough prospect for them to be able to leave their previous jobs. Many of them are new to their roles, and are introducing a different range of skills into the industry, and they bring in a wealth of knowledge that is completely free from bias.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><br \/>\nMany biotech firms and labs do not have the resources to be able to hire full-time staff for every skill they&#8217;re looking for. The on-demand market is growing quickly, with individuals having specific skills being highly valued. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/brucebooth\/2014\/09\/25\/talent-the-biggest-issue-in-biotech-boardrooms-today\/#1c6576726486\">According to Bruce Booth<\/a>,\u00a0the biotech sector has never in its 35 year history ever needed as many new Board Directors as it will in the coming two years.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/bioent\/2003\/030101\/full\/nbt0598supp_31.html\">Nature<\/a> suggests that:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><strong>&#8220;Collaboration between biotechnology companies recommends itself as an important component of the next stage in biotechnology&#8217;s evolution. There are three fundamental arguments that suggest this strategy will work: First, no single technology is likely to meet all the drug innovation needs of modern society. Second, no single company or type of company can possibly possess all the answers. Third, the rapid, and sometimes perilous, pace of the changes affecting the economics of biotechnology make the management of these companies more receptive to alternative strategies.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1716\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab.jpg\" alt=\"collab\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab.jpg 940w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab-300x200@2x.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kolabtree.com\/\">Collaboration<\/a>, both among biotech companies, as well as with academia, will indeed solve some of the industry&#8217;s problems. Online collaborative platforms also make it easier to access on-demand expertise. Companies that require specialist knowledge can now connect with experts in other countries\/institutions who will be able to make a valuable contribution to their growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;\">A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bioprocessintl.com\/business\/economics\/elucidation-collaboration-key-innovation-biotechnology\/\">Thompson Reuters report<\/a> refers to the link between collaboration and innovation as &#8216;collabovation&#8217;. Indeed, collabovation is the way forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biotechnology, as is the case with many fields today, is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Once requiring a specific set of specialized skills, the industry trends now show that individuals with interdisciplinary training are favored. A report published in Nature depicts that a large part of job postings not only include specialized subjects like chemistry, but also<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/biotech-talent-gap\/\" title=\"Read More\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[442,305,304,435],"tags":[253,252,17,325,254],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.1 (Yoast SEO v20.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How can biotechnology companies fill in the talent gap?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Biotechnology is a interdisciplinary science. Hiring freelance experts can help companies fill their talent and knowledge gaps easily.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/biotech-talent-gap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How can biotech companies fill in the talent gap?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Biotechnology is a interdisciplinary science. Hiring freelance experts can help companies fill their talent and knowledge gaps easily.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/biotech-talent-gap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Kolabtree Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-10T15:44:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-06T18:09:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/collab.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ramya Sriram\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ramya Sriram\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How can biotechnology companies fill in the talent gap?","description":"Biotechnology is a interdisciplinary science. 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