How to Navigate and De-Risk Your Next Career Move in Biotech Amid Layoffs and Market Uncertainty

Amid the winter chill, layoffs, and uncertainty, anxiety over career risks among those working in the biotechnology sector may have been amplified to its peak.

Clinical trials may fail, regulators may change their minds, production lines may encounter insurmountable problems, and cash flow as well as venture capital may dry up. All the risks faced by small biotech companies are beyond their direct control. Is it safer to work for a more stable company with higher revenue generation? Perhaps. Large pharmaceutical companies can provide you with abundant resources through the revenue they generate. However, just like small biotech firms, plans may change, innovations may fail, and competitors may take a share of the revenue, leading to reduced R&D investment and ultimately causing some of the projects you are responsible for to lose momentum.

Previously, a senior headhunter told VBInsight,The tone of this year's recruitment season is,Large companies are cutting projects and reducing headcount; small and medium-sized biotech firms face fundraising challenges, while those focused on original innovation remain far from clinical stages. “Many job seekers this year are making passive choices driven by a sense of crisis. ‘Seeking stability’ and ‘hunkering down’ have become the prevailing mindsets among most candidates, who are viewing their career paths with greater caution.”

In the biotech or big pharma sectors, there is no such thing as truly risk-free employment. So, what can individuals do to alleviate the anxiety associated with deciding where to work?

Over the past seven years, Emily Gransky, Vice President and Head of Recruiting at RA Ventures, has led recruitment efforts at two gene therapy companies, a subsidiary of a large corporation, and RA Capital. She also helped establish two start-ups outside the biotechnology sector. Although she has not worked for a large pharmaceutical company, Emily Gransky has developed her own perspectives on how to avoid and mitigate the next career risk in the biotechnology industry, based on conversations with numerous job seekers.

She offers job seekers in this field some truly useful advice, along with tips for working at companies during different stages.

VCBeat’s New Medicine compiled this article, as follows:

First, some important facts may offer us some reassurance. Although the employment landscape in the biotechnology industry has remained turbulent recently, with companies closing and layoffs occurring almost daily, but these layoffs do not, so far, signal a broader rise in unemployment. Scientific expertise is developed through years of education and experience,Throughout our careers, the skill set required to successfully operate a biotech company may remain in constant demand.

Secondly,Joining a biotech company that ultimately fails will not tarnish your resume.Failure is unfortunate, but it is so common that employers do not attribute it to personal shortcomings. Hiring managers are more interested in the contributions you made in your previous role. Typically, joining a smaller team means your scope of experience may be broader, allowing you to contribute to your next company in ways that are not limited to a single position. When considering which company would be most beneficial for you to join, you need to weigh many factors, but the failure of your previous employer will have little impact on your resume.

So, should you jump from Big Pharma to an early-stage biotech company?

Most of the job candidates I spoke with acknowledged, to some extent, the trend of moving from big pharma to smaller, early-stage biotech companies.Most people hope to make this change—perhaps you do too! In their current roles at large corporations, they express dissatisfaction with one or more of the following: feeling isolated and unsupported; perceiving decision-making and work progress as overly slow; and feeling insufficiently close to the “ground floor” to effectively translate drug development ideas into medications for patients.

However, what are the downsides of working in biotech? For most people, the biggest challenge is often that resources are significantly more limited at smaller biotech firms. You may need to take on more management responsibilities yourself—the earlier the stage of the company, the fewer people there are to share your workload. In big pharma, you can rely on an internal team to conduct clinical trials, but at a small biotech, you may have to depend on external CROs, which can be frustrating. If your company partners with a larger pharmaceutical firm, you become the “small player,” with less control and flexibility. Your career path may become less clear-cut, and priorities can shift rapidly (for example, executives might shelve a project due to investor feedback, or a drop in stock price could tighten the company’s cash position), sometimes leaving you questioning how decisions are made.

However, joining a small biotech company also has some great advantages.Breakthrough science; transforming an idea into a medication, where you can tangibly feel the connection between your work and patient health; growing alongside a team built from the ground up, forging friendships, and gradually evolving into a truly mature company; establishing a shared corporate culture from the outset, grounded in the collective belief that successfully fulfilling your mission to develop new drugs will permanently elevate human health.

There is truly nothing in the world more meaningful and valuable than this.

No matter where you come from (another biotech company, pharma, or academia), if you are prepared to take the risk of seeking a new position, here are some questions you will want to understand, especially for biotech companies at different stages and life cycles.

 Advantages:

Changes can be implemented rapidly, enabling everyone to easily reach consensus on progress and challenges. Issues that might take weeks or months to resolve in larger companies can often be addressed within hours.

You will have the opportunity to assume multiple roles, learning cross-functional knowledge that extends beyond your area of expertise from other experts who joined the team in its early stages. For instance, you may be tasked with recruiting talent and establishing your own laboratory, rather than stepping into an existing, fully equipped lab that does not align with your preferences.

You will have the opportunity to learn how the company was founded and how financing works.Do you want to know how to evaluate a company’s value, or what kind of reflection point (inflection point for growth) is critical for securing the next round of financing?You will not only find answers to these critical questions but also experience the ups and downs on the path to success.

You can participate in building a corporate culture,Contributing to the earliest R&D breakthroughs will give you a sense of intellectual reward and excitement. Are you passionate about diversity and inclusion? As an early member of the team, you can ensure that these critical issues are taken seriously from day one.

You will build friendly personal relationships with the founding team, who may become core members of your professional network. The rapport established through daily lunches with the CEO is fundamentally different from that formed at monthly all-hands meetings.

You will receive more equity, as your stake will be based on the seed round financing. This certainly entails higher risk, but if your company succeeds, the returns will be greater.

Disadvantages:

The higher the potential return, the higher the risk; in fact, most biotech companies fail at some stage before drug approval.

Your work schedule may be unpredictable, especially before key board meetings.

Although equity stakes in biotech firms may be significantly higher than those offered by large corporations, salaries in the biotech sector are typically lower.

For any member of the team, no task is too trivial; even the smallest matters are handled by dedicated personnel. For those accustomed to such support services, joining an early-stage biotech company can be a challenging adjustment. For instance, you need to get used to printing courier labels yourself.

Benefits are often less generous (the same benefits are more expensive for small companies, as smaller firms have weaker bargaining power).

Issues to Consider:

Do you fundamentally believe in this company’s “science”? Where does it come from? What is its foundation?

Is the company’s capital sufficient? Does it possess the strength to demonstrate its value and secure additional financing? How credible and financially robust are the investors?

If the company has a scientific founder, what is the level of this founder’s involvement?

Does the company have both scientists and management experts?(Typically, scientists and management experts are not the same person, but there are exceptions.)

Does the company provide basic insurance and benefits?

Advantages:

Progress in R&D is both encouraging and exciting. It will become the norm to see colleagues gather around to review trial data, sharing the ups and downs from proof-of-concept work to translational research.

Depending on the company's growth rate, you will be "in the trenches" alongside many new colleagues,Shared experiences shape pivotal moments in one’s professional career.

You will be able to focus more on your area of expertise while still handling some cross-functional tasks.

Communication is relatively easy. The company-wide weekly gatherings facilitate continuous information sharing, with exciting latest developments across all departments. You have the opportunity to meet everyone in the company.

The equity portion of your compensation remains substantial. You joined early, so you are well-positioned to share in a significant collective outcome.

At this stage, the company is still small, and its corporate culture and community are still taking shape. This presents a great opportunity for you to bring some cool ideas to life—think running clubs, skills-training workshops, or after-work happy hours. You can be the one who adds fun to life outside of work.

Disadvantages:

Risks persist, and financial markets exert an even greater influence on a company’s ability to secure its next round of financing. Even with breakthroughs in R&D, investors may withhold funding until they see progress toward the next milestone, which can be particularly frustrating.

Key experiments may begin to breed disappointment due to their excessive time consumption,and affect your perspective on the research and development of technologies you previously viewed as having significant potential. While it is exciting to witness progress in key clinical assets, the situation can become distressing when developments stall and pressure mounts from dwindling cash flow.

Although changes in leadership are not uncommon, the addition of a new CEO or CSO may further alter the culture, for better or worse.

Issues to Consider:

Does the company plan to relocate its offices/labs as it grows, and if so, does it intend to choose a similar location?

How much cash does the company have, and when is the growth inflection point in preparation for the next round of financing? (What are the data like, and what is the probability of success?)

How many leadership teams have been established, and what are the future plans for the different teams and departments?

Advantages:

The company appears to be solidifying across all fronts, including its corporate culture. At this stage, you are joining an established team; you can select a team that suits you rather than having to build the team and culture from scratch. Companies at this phase typically strive to maintain the vitality of their early-stage teams, actively solicit employee feedback, and demonstrate stronger execution capabilities.

R&D has progressed to the stage where downstream teams, such as a clinical team or even a commercialization team, can be established. Once these small teams are formed, each may develop its own distinct culture.

You will formally execute several cross-functional projects, helping employees get to know colleagues outside their immediate areas of focus. You will concentrate on your own professional domain while also building friendships with colleagues and enjoying ample opportunities for learning.

As R&D progresses, risks are mitigated, and larger-scale financing provides the financial backing needed to advance key milestones.

Multiple R&D projects may be advanced simultaneously, so you may have a more diverse work experience.

Companies typically go public at this stage, so your equity can generate real value. 

Disadvantages:

Each round of financing may dilute your equity. However, your goal is to hold a meaningful “stake” in large projects, rather than a larger “stake” in small or failed ones.Ensuring that you play a key role in the company’s success can help secure regular equity grants (typically annual), thereby mitigating the impact of equity dilution.

You may feel highly stressed or bored, depending on the progress made in your field of expertise.

Given your company’s rapid growth, your responsibilities may soon extend beyond the laboratory and office. Although hiring and expansion are challenging due to unpredictable demand, you must rise to the occasion. As financial markets cool, management is unlikely to allow the company to sustain a higher burn rate (e.g., increased rent or additional staff) unless clearly necessary.

At this stage, communication tends to be either highly effective or completely ineffective, as companies strive to strike an appropriate balance between over-communication and under-communication—for instance, deciding whether to hold large-scale or small-group meetings. Addressing these issues can be somewhat challenging.

If you are working on a lower-priority project and issues arise with the flagship project, the company may cut earlier-stage projects to conserve cash and salvage the flagship initiative, putting your job at risk.

Your equity value may fluctuate significantly.

Issues to Consider:

Has the company’s flagship project achieved clinical progress? Are there any additional pipeline arrangements in the preclinical stage? What is the priority of other clinical projects compared to the leading project? Which project are you working on?

What professional progress does the company expect you to achieve? How many promotion levels are there in your career path within the company, and how long do you expect to remain at your current level before being ready for the next? Professional advice: Clearly demonstrate your enthusiasm for your current role, as companies are rightly wary of employees who are not yet qualified but are constantly focused on promotion.

If your company goes public, are you prepared to ride the roller coaster of watching your stock price fluctuate (sometimes dramatically)? Do you have a strategy in place? If given the opportunity, would you know the optimal time to cash out some of your gains?

What portion of your equity will be granted to you in the form of restricted stock or stock options?

Advantages:

Although risks can never be completely eliminated, at this stage, the company is more likely to bring its clinical products to actual patient use.

As multiple clinical trial projects progress, or even as a drug reaches the market, you can more tangibly experience the impact you have on patients. If you succeed, you will hear directly from patients, which not only brings emotional fulfillment but also allows you to truly feel the company’s mission being realized in specific individuals.

You are more likely to define your next career stage within your current company, especially if you seek to gain more cross-functional experience. If you wish to transition from one team to another, your in-depth understanding of the company’s teams and culture serves as a distinct advantage.

You will gain direct exposure to the complex approval processes of regulatory agencies, requiring you to balance the challenges of multiple workflows and coordinate efforts to ensure seamless operations—an excellent learning opportunity.

The company’s revenue will continue to grow; cumbersome systems and processes will become the norm, and milestones achieved will be celebrated.

Disadvantages:

As the company moves toward commercialization, its culture naturally evolves. This does not necessarily indicate a problem, but many employees may dislike this shift and choose to leave, rejoining earlier-stage startups. The departure of founding members can create confusion and unease among the remaining team.

Communication becomes a challenge, and your rights and interests will be further diluted.

Your company may be acquired; if the acquirer deems your organization to have no strategic value, or decides to curtail your ongoing projects—particularly if those projects do not align with the acquisition’s objectives—you could even lose your job.

Issues to Consider:

What opportunities are available to you in the areas of learning and development, as well as cross-departmental growth?

Are you prepared to handle cumbersome workflows? Do you possess the skills to persuade your colleagues? Can you accept ambiguous decisions?

What would you do if your company were acquired?

I have been fortunate to work at companies in their early, mid, and growth stages, each offering distinct advantages and a unique set of challenges. For professionals in the biotechnology sector, the good news is that biotech continues to make remarkable advances, which can be translated into therapies that benefit patients throughout their lives. Biotechnology is an industry that offers incredible professional fulfillment!

We need a healthier world. Throughout your career, you will have ample opportunities to learn, transform, meet new people, and master new technologies. Therefore,When considering a job offer, do not view yourself merely as an employee of a company that may succeed or fail, but rather as a permanent citizen of the biomedical ecosystem, where your skills will always be needed in the pursuit of a shared mission.

Original article link:

How to navigate and de-risk your next career move in biotech: pros, cons, and tips for every stage

https://rapport.bio/all-stories/navigating-and-derisking-your-next-career-move