Buyer's Market

The biotech industry has yet to recover fully from the boom and then bust of 2000-2001. Venture investment in biotech was $4.34 billion in 2000 but then dropped off for several years. Overall, it has started to pick up again, registering $4.18 billion in 2004 and $3.77 billion in 2005, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree survey. Investment in the medical-device sector has also recently seen a reversal of a downward trend ($2.50 billion invested in 2000 followed by a drop, and rising again since 2004, registering $2.15 billion in 2005). Hiring follows investments by 6-12 months, however, and as a recruiter, I did not see a significant increase in hiring activity until late 2004-2005, when hiring focused on the growing areas of clinical and regulatory positions. Overall, hiring is still a buyer's (i.e., company's) market.