Biotech Strategic Consultant/Equity Research

[Pacho From Cali]

Do these jobs exist for PharmDs? I've seen several postings for biotech analysts that require some PhD-level life science degree that do due diligence on publicly-traded companies

There are also strategy consultants that work alongside pharma.

Anyone familiar with these opportunities and the route-to-entry? What about pay?

Thanks

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[Jbrl]

Do these jobs exist for PharmDs? I've seen several postings for biotech analysts that require some PhD-level life science degree that do due diligence on publicly-traded companies

There are also strategy consultants that work alongside pharma.

Anyone familiar with these opportunities and the route-to-entry? What about pay?

Thanks

Short answer - yes. They will hire PharmDs for those postings.

Major routes to entry - another degree (e.g. MBA, MSF), right after PharmD, relevant experienced hire (e.g. industry, hospital TA specialist, informaticist)

Alternative method to break in - ER: network, attain CFA, show interest in relevant markets/investing, learn financial modeling, and/or develop investment theses and become contributor (e.g. SeekingAlpha). Consulting: network, develop relevant skill (depends on firms targeted)

Pay - variability here. 70k-220k all-in 1st year comp. Depends on firm (e.g. bulge brackets vs. small boutiques for ER) and tenure (e.g. whether entry level or PhD/MD/MBA level).

 

[lord999]

Yes, although very rarely without some basic industry experience (not in the QA, regulatory, or marketing departments, but finance or SCM), or an MBA/MS Finance. The hidden requirement is that you have to be as socially presentable as a management consultant which you can read about elsewhere.

 

[Jbrl]

Be aware that there are structural headwinds in ER right now. EU Legislation (Mifid II) is set to rock the sector. Do your research if that's somewhere you want to go. Consulting will offer a more diversified skill set. The great majority of consulting firms are willing to hire PhDs, who have even less client-/customer-facing experience than pharmacists do, so lack of polish won't necessarily be a deterrent and can be trained for.

 

[Argentium]

Re: Consulting --

Take a look at bridge programs -- BCG and McK (ADP) had them last I checked. Also some firms are more inclined to hire hard science backgrounds (IMS, Clearview, etc.) than others (ZS).

 

[Pacho From Cali]

Thank you all for your responses. I am appreciative and will keep you updated as to the progress. I am aiming for the ADP internships offered at the big 3 (MBB)

 

[Jbrl]

Thank you all for your responses. I am appreciative and will keep you updated as to the progress. I am aiming for the ADP internships offered at the big 3 (MBB)

I recommend you cast a very wide net. MBB's quite picky about grad institution, GPA, standardized tests, work exp, leadership. ~10% of those invited to interview will receive an offer, ~1% yield of all apps. Of all grad-level hires - MBA and APD - ~65-70% are sourced from universities with T7 business schools, ~85-95% with T15 business schools. Laying this out not to deter you but to make sure you go in eyes wide open. As such networking will be essential, assuming you have the stats they're looking for.

With that said, check out other consulting firms as Argentium listed (via Vault, job boards etc) and figure out what kind of consulting you're willing to do (market access? competitive intelligence? market research? corp strat? bus dev? R&D? tech? and so on). Each does something a little different. Bar to entry may be lower, depends on firm, but networking will always be a common thread. Some examples:

Tier 2: LEK, OW, PwC S&, Parthenon-EY, Monitor Deloitte
Big 4 + A: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, Accenture
Life Sci Specialists: ZS, QuintilesIMS, Clearview, Putnam, Clarion, Artisan, Huron, Navigant, Dedham, Xcenda, CRA, Promidian, Inventiv, DRG

Edit: just noticed you've already graduated. You don't qualify for MBB internships - need to apply for full time. Small consultancies are probably your best bet. If no luck, go back to school.

 

[Argentium]

I recommend you cast a very wide net. MBB's quite picky about grad institution, GPA, standardized tests, work exp, leadership. ~10% of those invited to interview will receive an offer, ~1% yield of all apps. Of all grad-level hires - MBA and APD - ~65-70% are sourced from universities with T7 business schools, ~85-95% with T15 business schools. Laying this out not to deter you but to make sure you go in eyes wide open. As such networking will be essential, assuming you have the stats they're looking for.

With that said, check out other consulting firms as Argentium listed (via Vault, job boards etc) and figure out what kind of consulting you're willing to do (market access? competitive intelligence? market research? corp strat? bus dev? R&D? tech? and so on). Each does something a little different. Bar to entry may be lower, depends on firm, but networking will always be a common thread. Some examples:

Tier 2: LEK, OW, PwC S&, Parthenon-EY, Monitor Deloitte
Big 4 + A: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, Accenture
Life Sci Specialists: ZS, QuintilesIMS, Clearview, Putnam, Clarion, Artisan, Huron, Navigant, Dedham, Xcenda, CRA, Promidian, Inventiv, DRG

Edit: just noticed you've already graduated. You don't qualify for MBB internships - need to apply for full time. Small consultancies are probably your best bet. If no luck, go back to school.

Stick to the life science specialists mentioned above ... Vault has a nice list of the top 15 or so. Your PharmD will be most valued here and most of them are small enough that they're still growing a lot, which provides opportunity for advancement.

I have not personally or even peripherally seen a proposal awarded to anyone in Big 4 + A outside of back office work. I am dubious regarding the long term sustainability of the OW LS practice, LEK is good but heavy on DD work, EY I have not heard good things about (though they are trying hard to build out their LS practice), Deloitte/S& are probably big enough that you'll be okay.

 

[Jbrl]

Stick to the life science specialists mentioned above ... Vault has a nice list of the top 15 or so. Your PharmD will be most valued here and most of them are small enough that they're still growing a lot, which provides opportunity for advancement.

I have not personally or even peripherally seen a proposal awarded to anyone in Big 4 + A outside of back office work. I am dubious regarding the long term sustainability of the OW LS practice, LEK is good but heavy on DD work, EY I have not heard good things about (though they are trying hard to build out their LS practice), Deloitte/S& are probably big enough that you'll be okay.

I think he should be happy to land any of the firms listed so probably a bit beyond his scope - but for completeness and interested students:

• Both Accenture and KPMG have dedicated Corporate and Business Unit Strategy practices now (Accenture practice leader is ex-McKinsey Partner). Accenture's strat practice naturally oriented toward tech. Big 4 management consulting generally known as operations/implementation body shops though, to be clear.
• Parthenon's life sci strength lies in digital health/precision medicine from my own convos with leadership there.
• S&'s senior leadership from pre-acquisition legacy Booz & Co will probably be poached by MBB next year as their contracts expire - the acquisition by PwC hasn't gone as well as planned. Their private equity due diligence (DD) Deals team one of the few saving graces.
• Oliver Wyman isn't very strong in pharma; from what I understand, financial services still accounts for >50% of their practice mix, the medical portion of that largely involving strategy/actuarial work for health insurance firms.
• ATK and Roland Berger are a couple other Tier 2 shops.

As Argentium stated there's a more direct link between life sci boutiques and pharmacist ed, but the generalist firms would still love to take you for your healthcare expertise and there are certain benefits to joining them instead e.g. option value, "random walk" through various industries.

There are plenty of other consultancies not listed. If you want to get into consulting you'll find something if you're resourceful and persistent.

 

[Pacho From Cali]

Update:

Made tremendous progress in this consulting field. Have noticed that the smaller life science/technical firms admire the skillset of the PharmD (LEK for regulatory, Exponent for technical/basic science skills, Putnam for commercialization and ZS as a generalist) They compare PhD to PharmD/MD as mile deep vs mile wide.

I have focused my efforts in management consulting for the MBBs and Deloitte for implementation. Successfully completed Bridge programs for McK, Bain and BCG. Now focusing my efforts on two of those..

The hardest part is preparing for case interviews. It is like they are speaking a different language and my lack of business terminology is a glaring weak spot. However practice makes perfect and will update my progress in a few months. Take the leap of faith!

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I wonder if there's any opportunities fire pharmacists that can put "data scientist" on their resume

 

[lord999]

I wonder if there's any opportunities fire pharmacists that can put "data scientist" on their resume

Yes, but it's a dogwhistle for "I don't know statistics." PhRMA is one of the original industries that need the statistical firepower, that's why many of those SAS, Stata, and R books got written, you'll notice that most of them are PhRMA insiders or consultants. It's better that you put down that you actually have a background in Adaptive PRO clinical trials with variable endpoints under censored data conditions or something to that nature or have stochastic calculus knowledge. The best is if you were accepted to one of the FDA Offices as a statistician for a year or two, then jump over.

Membership in ICSA is not a must, but it's highly recommended:
ICSA 2018

You'd meet anyone who is anyone in that line of business there sooner or later, and there is PhRMA representation from all the stakeholders.

 

[Jbrl]

Update:

Made tremendous progress in this consulting field. Have noticed that the smaller life science/technical firms admire the skillset of the PharmD (LEK for regulatory, Exponent for technical/basic science skills, Putnam for commercialization and ZS as a generalist) They compare PhD to PharmD/MD as mile deep vs mile wide.

I have focused my efforts in management consulting for the MBBs and Deloitte for implementation. Successfully completed Bridge programs for McK, Bain and BCG. Now focusing my efforts on two of those..

The hardest part is preparing for case interviews. It is like they are speaking a different language and my lack of business terminology is a glaring weak spot. However practice makes perfect and will update my progress in a few months. Take the leap of faith!

Hey! That's really fantastic to hear. Thanks for the update. Hope the info provided here was helpful for you. I think there are plenty of opportunities for PharmDs in this field. I presume you're looking to join as a specialist or in the implementation arms of each firm, from what you wrote?

If you need any help, feel free to reach out. I went through the process you're going through.

I wonder if there's any opportunities fire pharmacists that can put "data scientist" on their resume

Aside from what Lord has written - [if you're serious about your q] yes, if you have the corresponding skill set. Take some Coursera/Udemy/Khan courses, take on some side projects, work for some startups/go back to school and work your way up. If you're looking for a formal degree, Georgia Tech has a really cheap online Comp Sci masters for example.

Among other things, I can think of several healthcare data science/big data firms that would appreciate having a pharmacist on board who can translate both the clinical piece for the programmers and the programming piece for the clinicians. That’s aside from data science arms of F500 and consulting firms.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Hey! That's really fantastic to hear. Thanks for the update. Hope the info provided here was helpful for you. I think there are plenty of opportunities for PharmDs in this field. I presume you're looking to join as a specialist or in the implementation arms of each firm, from what you wrote?

If you need any help, feel free to reach out. I went through the process you're going through.


Aside from what Lord has written - [if you're serious about your q] yes, if you have the corresponding skill set. Take some Coursera/Udemy/Khan courses, take on some side projects, work for some startups/go back to school and work your way up. If you're looking for a formal degree, Georgia Tech has a really cheap online Comp Sci masters for example.

Among other things, I can think of several healthcare data science/big data firms that would appreciate having a pharmacist on board who can translate both the clinical piece for the programmers and the programming piece for the clinicians. That’s aside from data science arms of F500 and consulting firms.

Thanks
I'm contemplating it.

My wife knows some people at UT who were recommending programs / courses and my brother has a strong network in the "start-up" scene in Austin.

 

[lord999]

Thanks
I'm contemplating it.

My wife knows some people at UT who were recommending programs / courses and my brother has a strong network in the "start-up" scene in Austin.

If you end up in a traditional university setting in Texas, UT - Austin, then Paul Damien's program is probably the best among the faculty (I don't think Tom Sager, who was visiting faculty and taught reinsurance risk theory, takes students anymore). UT Houston has the stronger health sciences program, Dean Sittig (who is from OHSU) or Assaf Gottlieb are the most reputable teachers for those sorts of subjects.

If you're going to hack it yourself route and want some longevity, you're still going to need SAS (even though it's losing heavily to R) due to FDA/CMS formatting and R/S (S-Plus is still heavily favored in the industry particularly for PK work, and its cousin R is gaining traction), a reading if not programming knowledge of FORTRAN, and a database stack with associated programming language (either Oracle/MySQL/MariaDB with Java or SQL Server with CLI compatible language knowledge work), a programming language, and some familiarity with clinical trial regulations (which you can pick up working as well as go to school). You won't rise beyond Principal without something else going for you, but that's still far better than pharmacy. If you're just going to do the bare minimum of Python, web stack, etc., you will be displaced fairly rapidly as those stacks change (we've already gone through a hiring and firing cycle getting rid of all the Ruby on Rails people). That's if you want to stay in the health side with some IT. If you are going full on IT, I'd recommend that you pick up advanced AI/automation skills as that's a universal need right now to automate away programming and system administration jobs.

Also, I'm in the process of getting out of that line of night work. I'm seeing the market overheat for this sort of IT (minus network engineering, AI automation/software tool creation, technical statistics such as actuary or regulatory), and most of us are cashing in and finding greener pastures.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

If you end up in a traditional university setting in Texas, UT - Austin, then Paul Damien's program is probably the best among the faculty (I don't think Tom Sager, who was visiting faculty and taught reinsurance risk theory, takes students anymore). UT Houston has the stronger health sciences program, Dean Sittig (who is from OHSU) or Assaf Gottlieb are the most reputable teachers for those sorts of subjects.

If you're going to hack it yourself route and want some longevity, you're still going to need SAS (even though it's losing heavily to R) due to FDA/CMS formatting and R/S (S-Plus is still heavily favored in the industry particularly for PK work, and its cousin R is gaining traction), a reading if not programming knowledge of FORTRAN, and a database stack with associated programming language (either Oracle/MySQL/MariaDB with Java or SQL Server with CLI compatible language knowledge work), a programming language, and some familiarity with clinical trial regulations (which you can pick up working as well as go to school). You won't rise beyond Principal without something else going for you, but that's still far better than pharmacy. If you're just going to do the bare minimum of Python, web stack, etc., you will be displaced fairly rapidly as those stacks change (we've already gone through a hiring and firing cycle getting rid of all the Ruby on Rails people). That's if you want to stay in the health side with some IT. If you are going full on IT, I'd recommend that you pick up advanced AI/automation skills as that's a universal need right now to automate away programming and system administration jobs.

Also, I'm in the process of getting out of that line of night work. I'm seeing the market overheat for this sort of IT (minus network engineering, AI automation/software tool creation, technical statistics such as actuary or regulatory), and most of us are cashing in and finding greener pastures.

Thanks again; super useful info

 

[Pacho From Cali]

As an update:
I was able to successfully get an interview at all 3 MBBs + a few boutique life science firms (LEK, ZS Associates & Parexel) [leaning toward boutique]

BCG was toughest out of all three. McK easiest surprisingly. Waiting for offers at this point.

Key differences between the 3:

BCG: Regional staffing model - expected to be staffed on cases with other consultants from the same region. Heavy data analytics
McK: The Firm. Well known throughout the world. Global staffing model. Will be staffed on cases with consultants everywhere
Bain: Private Equity. Local staffing. Will staff on cases with consultants from the same office

The difficult: The fit/personal experience was hard to qualify due to unique background (pharmD + fellowship) Competing with MD, PhD

Preparation: Case in Point is a great resource to help familiarize one with business terms and case structure/framework. MBA case books helped a bunch. WSJ, Bloomberg

What do these opportunities have to do with Pharmacy. Nothing at all. My long term goal is to work in healthcare operations. As you can see, a little prep can go a long way