Correspondence: Molly B. Schmid, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, 535 Watson Drive, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. E-mail: mschmid@kgi.edu

¹is a marketing analyst at UCLA Office of Intellectual Property, where she has the primary marketing responsibility for a wide range of life sciences technologies spanning pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, reagents and information technologies. Her efforts have resulted in licensing and option agreements with companies from start-ups to Fortune 500 life science companies. Liu earned a Master of Bioscience, with a focus on the Business of Bioscience, from the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, and a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology (with a minor in English) from the University of California, Berkeley.

²is a Professor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. Previously, she spent ten years in the biotechnology industry, most recently as Senior Vice President of Preclinical Programs at Affinium Pharmaceuticals in Toronto, Ontario. From 1986 to 1994, she was Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a Searle/Chicago Community Trust Scholar and a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Fellow. She received her PhD in Biology from the University of Utah, and her BS in Biology from SUNY Albany.

Received 28 August 2008; Revised 28 August 2008; Published online 21 October 2008.

Abstract

The biotechnology industry has historically had a strong focus on innovation and research. As the industry has matured, companies have become intensely focused on commercialising their products. This study assesses the current functional composition of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology workforce, and compares differences in workforce needs among companies of different sizes, ages and product commercialisation maturities. Sample sets of the largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies were selected, as were a set of smaller and younger companies. Job openings posted on the websites of these companies were categorised. Five functional categories of job openings were created – Laboratory, Manufacturing, General & Administrative, Regulatory/Clinical Affairs and Sales/Marketing – and each open position was placed into one of these five categories. Companies with products on the market had an average of 17 per cent of job openings in the laboratory category, and 83 per cent of openings in the remaining non-laboratory categories. Smaller companies without products on the market had a higher percentage of jobs categorised as laboratory. This study identifies the need for individuals with a blend of science and business skills, and makes clear the importance of educating scientifically trained individuals for scientifically oriented, but non-laboratory positions.