Industry Pharmacist.. Real or Myth?

[Jbrl]

With all the uncertainty in retail and the growing competitiveness for hospital jobs, have to echo others here - industry jobs seem comparatively more advantageous.

I call bull****. No offense, of course.

Not BS if he’s an in-demand SME with good relationships, though his work is likely dependent on a couple people and could change any time. Consulting firms charge clients $3k-8k/day for their junior post-doctorate/MBA folks.

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[wazoodog]

I call bull****. No offense, of course.

What's so hard to believe? Getting "lucky" twice or getting 250/hr as a consultant? Not sure if you follow startup biotech stocks but they are high risk, high reward ventures. They're riding sometimes on only 1 molecule and 1 indication and many fail, but if you're with the company when it finally gets a successful filing - it can be like hitting the jackpot.

The thing is, if you've been in that organization when it hits that kind of success - the next thing that happens more than half the time is it gets bought out by big pharma before even filing a BLA/NDA. The buyer usually want to retain the talent and offers jobs to stay on but the brains/scientists/entrepreneurs often hate a large bureaucratic structure and leave only to do it all again from the beginning. And guess who they call to recruit as their project grows - people who they've worked with in the past. Now you have a team that's experienced success and have learned a lot of lessons along the way, with a better chance of repeat success. Example - those startup biotechs developing CAR-T inhibitors are often founded by and recruited former people from Amgen, Gilead, Genentech, etc. Some of those startups have already been acquired within the last few years by bigger companies like Astellas and Gilead, with the buyout turning out very lucrative for the employees (many of whom have already experience a big payout from their former companies growing from small biotech to big pharma).

As for getting paid 250/hr as a consultant. It's not only possible, but for a consultant with decades of experience who has built a good reputation and network throughout their industry career before becoming a consultant - they might not even accept a contract for less than 120-150/hr. When a company has budgeted millions of dollars for a single clinical trial, 200k is a no-brainer drop in the bucket for a talented person that could legitimately minimize risk of failure. Clinical studies are a huge investment of time and money for a company, and they're hinging their future on the pipeline. Trust me - they're not going to be cheap if they've managed to lure a talented individual to the table, especially if they're confident the person can contribute to its success.

 

[Thoughtfulsinner]

What's so hard to believe? Getting "lucky" twice or getting 250/hr as a consultant? Not sure if you follow startup biotech stocks but they are high risk, high reward ventures. They're riding sometimes on only 1 molecule and 1 indication and many fail, but if you're with the company when it finally gets a successful filing - it can be like hitting the jackpot.

The thing is, if you've been in that organization when it hits that kind of success - the next thing that happens more than half the time is it gets bought out by big pharma before even filing a BLA/NDA. The buyer usually want to retain the talent and offers jobs to stay on but the brains/scientists/entrepreneurs often hate a large bureaucratic structure and leave only to do it all again from the beginning. And guess who they call to recruit as their project grows - people who they've worked with in the past. Now you have a team that's experienced success and have learned a lot of lessons along the way, with a better chance of repeat success. Example - those startup biotechs developing CAR-T inhibitors are often founded by and recruited former people from Amgen, Gilead, Genentech, etc. Some of those startups have already been acquired within the last few years by bigger companies like Astellas and Gilead, with the buyout turning out very lucrative for the employees (many of whom have already experience a big payout from their former companies growing from small biotech to big pharma).

As for getting paid 250/hr as a consultant. It's not only possible, but for a consultant with decades of experience who has built a good reputation and network throughout their industry career before becoming a consultant - they might not even accept a contract for less than 120-150/hr. When a company has budgeted millions of dollars for a single clinical trial, 200k is a no-brainer drop in the bucket for a talented person that could legitimately minimize risk of failure. Clinical studies are a huge investment of time and money for a company, and they're hinging their future on the pipeline. Trust me - they're not going to be cheap if they've managed to lure a talented individual to the table, especially if they're confident the person can contribute to its success.

No offense, but I don't trust you. Nothing personal my friend.

 

[wazoodog]

No offense, but I don't trust you. Nothing personal my friend.

No offense taken. I hope you will one day be in the position to be on the receiving end of that kind of contract (unless you already have a better gig going on). If you're in the industry to be frank, it's far from being unbelievable. Its where I hope to be in another decade or so. There are far more deals that are harder to believe.

 

[Thoughtfulsinner]

No offense taken. I hope you will one day be in the position to be on the receiving end of that kind of contract (unless you already have a better gig going on). If you're in the industry to be frank, it's far from being unbelievable. Its where I hope to be in another decade or so. There are far more deals that are harder to believe.

I left pharmacy to become an ananesthesiologist. Good luck and good convo. Take care.

 

[wazoodog]

I left pharmacy to become an ananesthesiologist. Good luck and good convo. Take care.

In that case, sounds like you do have a good thing going on! Kudos to you for taking your career where you want to go. FWIW - as a US board certified MD, if you were to ever establish yourself in pharma industry you could probably eventually ask a consultant rate even higher than the 250/hr. However, most clinical practice physicians I know aren't in it for the pay so I assume a consultant rate of whatever amount wouldn't matter much to you if it's not what you want to do.

 

[braineddetermined]

Actually there’s an interesting thread about a former FM doctor who got into the pharma industry...after hard work, experience etc he now makes 600k+ yearly, which of course it’s more than the typical FM doctor who earns 250k/300k.

Here’s the thread for the ones interested

Physicians in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The following is taken from several PMs that I've sent out to people who have asked for some details on how I got into pharma. Here is my background briefly: MD at a well respected state school, 2 yrs Gen surgery residency followed by 3 yrs Family Practice. Have now been working in pharma for...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[wazoodog]

Actually there’s an interesting thread about a former FM doctor who got into the pharma industry...after hard work, experience etc he now makes 600k+ yearly, which of course it’s more than the typical FM doctor who earns 250k/300k.

Here’s the thread for the ones interested

Physicians in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The following is taken from several PMs that I've sent out to people who have asked for some details on how I got into pharma. Here is my background briefly: MD at a well respected state school, 2 yrs Gen surgery residency followed by 3 yrs Family Practice. Have now been working in pharma for...

forums.studentdoctor.net

That sounds about right. MDs usually enter the industry at a higher level than PharmDs, who usually enter at entry level unless they're transitioning from something relevant like a clinical pharmacist. In fact, I've known foreign MDs and MDs who came straight of a fellowship enter the industry at an Associate Director level.

 

[wazoodog]

The kicker is I know some of the consultant rates I mentioned because HR departments are sometimes not the greatest in maintaining confidentiality in consultant rates. As an interviewer, I'll get an email with job description and candidate CV. Occasionally, the pay rate will be listed somewhere on the job description because an admin forget to remove it from the confidential version before sending it out to interviewers. Believe me, there have been times I've taken a look and thought, "wow...should I be asking for a lot more?"