Riding the Waves of Life Sciences Executive Search in an Unpredictable Industry

Over the last decade, professionals working in the Life Sciences understand that change has been the only constant. From the investment boom of the 2010s and money pouring into companies with lofty novel ideas; to a global pandemic leading to a market downturn; to integrating rapidly developing technological capabilities, the industry has been on a rollercoaster ride. While this is what keeps Life Sciences Executive Search fun and interesting, it can also bring stress and uncertainty.

Biopharma booms and busts make it imperative for biotech executive search firms to stay adaptable to market shifts. Below we discuss the latest trends in the biopharma sector regarding executive search, and how falling back on strong company values – like the Talent Management approach we take at BayBridge – can temper drastic industry ups and downs. 

Recent Trends in the Biopharma Industry

There are a few trends underlying the state of the biotech markets and company funding now:

 1)    Mass layoffs and company restructuring is expanding the pool of available candidates. Why? A combination of factors. Many of the biotech startups that failed to meet therapeutic endpoints in clinical trials are running out of cash and failing to secure more funding or go public with the general state of the markets. Pharma companies are also restructuring and decreasing the amount of M&A activity based on mounting evidence of success or failure from recent clinical trial results.

2)    There has been a change in investor appetite. A knock-on effect of the above has meant VCs are shifting their focus to companies already generating revenue through partnerships with big pharma and other companies, and with technology that will provide multiple revenue streams – such as in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms, big data, or medical devices and diagnostics (Lee & Dunn, 2022).  

Staying Adaptable in Life Sciences Executive Search

With the sudden influx of people open to work, it’s important to remember that more candidates in the market does not necessarily ease the talent shortage. In highly specialized industries like biotech and biopharma, finding the right person to fill a vacancy still demands an in-depth understanding of a candidate’s background experience relevant to company needs. Samantha Truex, CEO of Upstream Bio (a biotech company developing therapeutics for inflammatory diseases) said recently that she has received resume books from companies who have needed to downsize, and even with that access, critical hires have been extremely challenging to find (Pagliarulo, 2022).  

It can be tempting to interview candidates who are looking for a job after a recent layoff and want to move quickly into a new role. But this is falling into old recruitment models that lead to poor outcomes for companies.

At BayBridge we understand that more candidates do not equal more talent. Despite market swings, we always employ the use of our Talent Management approach to understand what a candidate wants, and if that is in alignment with what a client needs.

Another way to stay adaptable in the current market situation is to understand what areas within the biotech space need critical hires, and then shift priorities accordingly. For example, just because funding is lower for clinical trials and data endpoints aren’t being met, doesn’t mean there isn’t a need for leaders in the R&D space. The same goes for companies at the forefront of a burgeoning industry paradigm, such as the integration of sophisticated technological platforms for drug discovery.

Every successful company needs to set targets and measure company progress with KPIs. Ultimately however, finding success through times of uncertainty is about being able to fall back on strong values and a dedicated approach that remains consistent (Furr & Furr, 2022). For BayBridge, this comes back to instilling, living, and breathing our Talent Management approach to Executive Search. To learn more about the way we work, and partner with our specialized teams of Life Sciences Executive Search Consultants, reach out today.

Sources

Furr, N. & Furr, S.H. (July - August 2022). How to overcome your fear of the unknown. Harvard Business Review 100(4), 135-139.

Lee, Y.J. & Dunn, A. (11 August 2022). The economy is in a downturn, and top biotech VCs are favoring startups that can bring in revenue over companies chasing cool ideas. Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-favor-revenue-making-biotech-startups-during-downturn-2022-8

Pagliarulo, N. (9 August 2022). Samantha Truex on biotech hiring, competing for funding, and Upstream’s next steps. Biopharma Dive. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/samantha-truex-upstream-biotech-startup-venture-funding/629106/