In 2004, when Vancouver-based Neuromed Pharmaceuticals wanted to expand its operations into the United States, the company carefully picked Conshohocken, Pa., to be the home for its clinical and commercial divisions. The young pharmaceutical company, which specializes in next-generation chronic pain therapy, "mapped out every biotech, major pharmaceutical company, and clinical research organization in the region to figure out where to center our company so it would be right in the middle of the biggest talent pool I could find," says Christopher Gallen, president and CEO.

"We chose this area on purpose because we knew it had the human resources we needed to develop the company," continues Gallen. "As a pharmaceutical company, much of the strategy is on products and strength of the science. We're in very good shape. Long term, success is based on how effectively we build the company, and what kinds of people we bring in and the culture we create. People strategy is essential to our business aim."

Since opening its Pennsylvania offices, Neuromed has added 12 people to its employment records with the hope of adding another 40 in the next couple of years as it brings products to market. Neuromed Pharmaceuticals isn't the only life sciences company attracted to the Greater Philadelphia biocluster. Approximately 400 life science businesses, from biotechs to support services, call this region home.

Experts such as James Laird at Ashton Tweed, an executive recruiting firm, say this area's job opportunities will continue to be plentiful for the next five to 10 years, despite news that Big Pharma is downsizing. Laird describes these changes as much needed restructuring that will allow Big Pharma to focus on what it does best: product commercialization. "Five years ago, Big Pharma would only invest in companies with therapeutic compounds in late-stage clinical development," says Laird. "Today they've gone upstream to Phase I, and in some circumstances, even further to the preclinical stage. It makes all the sense in the world for them to do this. It greatly reduces their dependency on in-house research efforts for a pipeline of new products, and allows the annual R&D investment to be leveraged across a much larger number of potential product opportunities."

Bob Blumenthal, a senior partner at Korn/Ferry, an executive recruiting firm, agrees. "They are making healthy and smart changes for their businesses." Still, by their sheer size, Big Pharma companies will continue to out-hire small to midsized firms, according to Blumenthal, who is also an executive committee member of the Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance, which promotes the Greater Philadelphia area as an ideal place for private-equity investments. According to the 2005 Milken Report, more than 30,000 (56%) life science jobs in the region were with pharmaceutical companies in 2003. "Now there is movement from Big Pharma to smaller companies," says Blumenthal.

"Big Pharma has been consolidating for the 24 years I've been in this business." Ron Cassie, president and founder of the executive recruiting firm Cassie-Shipherd Group, says. "Twenty-four years ago, 80% of our work was with Big Pharma and big medical device companies. Now 20% is with Big Pharma and 80% is with emerging companies. This is where the action is. This is where the ideas are. This is where the growth is."

Laird says Ashton Tweed created an executive talent bank for that reason. There are senior life science executives who have cashed out of Big Pharma but still want to remain professionally active. So they're willing to take the risk and work for a small company on an interim basis because "it's a better balance of professional and personal life," he says. It can also be an opportunity to own an equity position so that when they build the company up and sell it five to eight years later, "they'll only be 62 or 65 years old," Laird adds.

While there are no recent figures indicating which part of the life science sector is the "hottest" in terms of employment, the industry is undeniably on fire. The Milken Report found that in 2003, the Greater Philadelphia region's life sciences industry was responsible for 276,000 total jobs, or 11.4% of all employment, and $13.7 billion, or 12.8% of total earnings. The growth has been so fast that CEO Resources, a boutique executive recruiting firm that specializes in small to midsized companies, has seen its business shift from 80% IT and 20% life sciences in 1989 to 70% life sciences and 30% IT in 2007.

Still, just because you flourished in Big Pharma doesn't mean you'll do just as well in a small to midsized company, be it biotech or support services, say recruitment experts. Each environment requires a certain type of temperament. In smaller companies employees will have various responsibilities, manage with fewer resources, and be entrepreneurial.

When recruiting for a small to midsized company, "We look for someone with Big Pharma savvy and small company guts," says R. Linda Resnick, president of CEO Resources. "I asked one fellow I interviewed, 'How do you know you're hands-on?' He said, 'I can make my own conference calls.' But can you hire your own people? If you don't have a chemist on staff, can you get the answers you need? There are so many things required in a small company."

Meanwhile most Big Pharma companies have well-defined infrastructures that encourage teamwork, coordination, specialization, and much political know-how. "A person who says, 'I can get something to market,' will be better suited for Big Pharma," says Blumenthal. "That person can expect to operate in a big corporation, manage meetings and teams."

So where are the jobs? Check company Web sites for postings as well as online job sites that cater to the life sciences, says Colleen Pero, a senior vice president of corporate services at Endo Pharmaceuticals. Also invaluable are recommendations from current employees. Last year, almost 20% of Endo's 325 new hires came from in-house referrals. "We pay a $3,000 bounty, but I think people refer others because they worked with quality colleagues in the past and want to continue working with quality colleagues," says Pero. "People we hire from referrals tend to stick around and have a good sense of the company and have a built-in friend."

As you enter the field or try to figure out what your next career move should be, consider the industry-wide career ladders created by the Life Science Career Alliance (www.lscalliance.org), a workforce development organization, in partnership with PABio and stakeholders from other organizations.¹ The career ladders document the types and levels of positions in each job family - discovery research, clinical development, regulatory, quality, product/process development, manufacturing, and facilities - a supervisory pathway, required education and experience, and a typical salary range.

Cassie also recommends getting about six to 10 years of Big Pharma experience before moving to a smaller company, "or else you won't bring much to the party. A scientist coming from Merck will bring discipline, structure, and form to a small business. They will know how to put a business together."

Because life science has become such an important economic force in the region, Laird predicts, "We won't have an academic brain drain. People won't have to go to the west coast for employment."