Careers

Learning Management: Evaluation of Retraining Risk at Indian Pharmaceutical Companies

Human medicinal product manufacturers face complexity and uncertainties regarding operational performance. Effective training management plays a major role in support and implementation of a pharmaceutical quality system. The minimum regulatory requirement is to employ adequately trained personnel with sufficient knowledge, skills, and experience. Software-based e-learning training methods are used widely across pharmaceutical companies. Achieving quality compliance depends significantly on several factors, from training preparation to assessments. To comply with the current regulatory requirements, pharmaceutical companies need to implement learning management…

The Talent Enigma in Digital Biomanufacturing

Demand for talent in the biopharmaceutical industry already had been climbing before the COVID-19 pandemic, showing an increase of 26% from 2018 to 2020. By the end of 2021, a further 32% surge was observed in the United States and Europe, against a 10% rise in the supply of expertise. Bolstered at first by the need to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapeutics and now by the threat of new pandemics, current market drivers include increases in investment, initial public offerings…

Delivering the Digital Skills Needs of the Bioprocessing Sector: Realizing the Vision of Industry 4.0 for Your Organization

As the bioprocessing sector marches toward the future, digitalization stands at the heart of the Industry 4.0 vision of smart, self-organizing factories. Along with critical success factors such as infrastructure investment in cloud-based technologies, digitalization enables companies to turn data into intelligence. The realization of Industry 4.0 promises digitally integrated facilities with fully automated manufacturing, real-time traceability, standardized procedures, and agile processes (1, 2). Here, we present the results of a benchmarking survey that drew participation from leading biopharmaceutical companies.…

The Best Places to Work in Biotech: Perspectives on Job Satisfaction in the Biopharmaceutical Ecosystem

In late spring of 2022, the combined BPI editorial and marketing teams sent out a “Best Places to Work in Biotech†survey to BPI readers. Similar surveys appear every year from a number of other organizations. Our focus was less data driven than many others, instead inviting commentary on factors that are becoming essential to job satisfaction and employee retention. One strong conclusion to draw from our reader responses is that people in biopharmaceutical careers want to play a key…

Reflections on Career Opportunities in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Mindset is important to working in the biopharmaceutical industry. Three distinguishing behaviors will enable new entrants to build rich and fulfilling careers: keeping an open mind, serving a purpose for the benefit of a greater good, and making risk-based decisions. The range of experiences in our own careers can help to illustrate the broad array of opportunities that you can find in the life sciences when such a mindset is applied. Below, we discuss some of those experiences and lessons…

eBook: Biopharmaceutical Training — Designing Effective Adult-Learning–Based Programs

Biopharmaceutical industry training is imperative not only to ensure patient safety, but also to develop a skilled workforce that can support successful businesses. Current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) skills and behaviors are needed so that products being developed, manufactured, and delivered are compliant and within specifications. Individuals who fulfill roles within development, manufacturing, and delivery processes need some level of education to develop all the necessary skills and behaviors. Adult earners have unique needs and requirements that must be incorporated…

Facilitating Workforce Development: A case study on improving single-use training through vendor and end-user collaboration

Discover how Pall Corporation and Lonza collaborated to improve single-use technology training for operators using a blended approach to learning. This article presents: The importance of SUT training for operators. Why a blended approach ensures that operators get the training they need in the format that best suits their learning style. How collaboration between suppliers and biomanufacturers can shorten training program development timelines and increase the quality of training tools. How Pall and Lonza developed a digital training approach together.…

Biomanufacturing Workforce Development: Fostering Talent During and After the Pandemic

Beyond the human suffering and economic damage caused by COVID-19, one of the most powerful results of the pandemic has been to focus global attention on drug and vaccine development for infectious diseases. Massive investments by governments, institutions, and biopharmaceutical companies have accelerated development of novel therapeutics, including messenger RNA (mRNA) and viral-vector vaccines, that are poised to become transformational platform technologies for biopharmaceutical manufacturing (1). Furthermore, the well-established technology of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has lived up to its promise…

Defining a Successful Biotechnology Entrepreneur

Having brought its first vaccine candidates from concept to clinical development in less than three months, BioNTech is making global waves as the pioneer behind Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Because of such success stories, more eyes than ever are looking at opportunities raised by the biotechnology industry. As talented people around the world from academia, clinical practice, and other industries consider careers in this sector, they should examine the characteristics necessary to become successful biotechnology entrepreneurs. Biotechnology fuses science and business.…

The Crossroads of Academia, ​Industry, and Education: Modern Training Centers Are Pivotal to the Future of R&D

Global pharmaceutical industry research and development (R&D) investment has experienced steady growth over the past two decades, with an anticipated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.0% and projected 2024 investment of US$213 billion (1). Focused on developing innovative therapies for chronic, infectious, genetic, and lifestyle-related ailments, the fast-growing biologics segment has become a cornerstone of the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare sector. The demonstrated effectiveness and wide-ranging applicability of biopharmaceuticals also have brought considerable R&D in computational and biological technologies.…