Demand For Jobs Rises In Pharma Sector Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Demand For Talent Rises In Pharma Industry
Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

As the pharma industry is racing to find a cure to the novel coronavirus while managing existing drug demand, the industry is one among the few sectors still hiring talent amidst the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

A Delhi-based hiring firm is struggling to find talent after receiving a requirement of 15 API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) talent across four-drug firms.

With companies looking for people on an immediate basis, the only way is to poach from existing firms. For both regulatory talent and drug development, there is a requirement now.

Hiring consultants said that the most popular roles here are the roles in regulatory affairs and API. The key to pain relief or cure for an ailment is the APIs and this ingredient is like the backbone of the drug, it refers to the active ingredient used in a pharmaceutical drug.

Across pharma companies, there are around 2,800 roles that need to be filled urgently, said the human resource consultants. These include sales/marketing staff specializing in digital distribution and regulatory affairs experts and API experts.

There are 700 vacancies for regulatory roles, said a Pune-based HR consultant.

This consultant explained that

these roles are for pharma companies, be it in India or elsewhere, who do not want any regulatory hurdles and want to play an active role in managing the COVID-19 outbreak.

A large Indian drugmaker’s senior pharma executive said that in areas such as drug discovery, senior quality assurance people, technology transfer, and developing complex injectable products, there is a demand for talent. An area where pharma companies are shelling out huge money to lure talent is in complex injectable product development.

For instance, around Rs. 1-1.2 crore per annum is charged by a senior manager in complex injectable development for US and European markets. By giving a 40-50 percent hike in salaries, companies are poaching them.

Likewise, even in R&D, there is a dearth of talent. Here the demand is high for people who understand regulatory requirements, clinical trials, and product development.

With research organizations and foreign companies paying at least 30-40 percent more salaries, retention is tougher. HR consultants consider that quality talent will be available for critical roles during the COVID-19 pandemic as they will stay back in India, considering the lockdown and the restriction on travel.

For instance, in a mid-sized pharma company in India, an R&D professional with three to five years’ work experience may earn between Rs 12 lakh and 18 lakh per year. However, in the United States, the salary for this professional could be as high as Rs 55 lakh per annum.

There is a demand only for talent with the right skills and experience, said that Managing Director of Synthokem Labs (manufactures APIs and intermediates) Jayant Tagore.

The pharmacy colleges’ fresh graduates are out of sync with industry requirements, complains Tagore. He said, ” For these people to make meaningful contributions, it takes at least two years, but they will leave the company for a higher pay package once they get the requisite experience. More than for big companies, this attrition will be problematic for MSMEs.

In India, the number of pharmacy and allied science graduates churned out are over 2,25,000, but many are unemployable.

Source
Demand For Talent Rises In Pharma