2024; the year of renewed investor confidence and what that means for talent

2023 was a tough year for Life Science companies across the globe with few IPOs and low levels of investments. The most stable part of the year came from the M&A landscape leading to moving pipelines and therefore disrupted teams. Off the back of such a tumultuous year, is there light at the end of the tunnel for 2024? If so, exactly how bright is it shining and what will that mean for executives and their hiring strategies?

January 2024 showed us that amidst a challenging period for IPOs, the biotech sector is exhibiting signs of rejuvenation, bolstered by the successful market debuts of CG Oncology and ArriVent. Last week’s events have breathed new life into the life science industry, instilling a sense of confidence among candidates and clients alike, signalling change could be on the horizon.

CG Oncology and ArriVent made headlines by each completing upsized IPOs, collectively amassing an impressive $555 million. CG Oncology, in particular, dazzled investors with a remarkable first-day performance, witnessing its share price nearly double from $19 to $37.17. This surge underscores the market's revived appetite for groundbreaking biotech ventures, echoing sentiments expressed at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference regarding a potentially promising year ahead for biotech. Thank you, CG Oncology, and ArriVent!

In parallel, the landscape of M&A within Life Sciences remained robust throughout 2023, laying the groundwork for intensified deal-making in 2024. Large-cap pharmaceutical companies persisted in their pursuit of midsize biotech firms, aiming to reinforce their pipelines against impending patent cliffs. This strategic trend is expected to persist throughout 2024, driven by investor interest in GLP-1 drugs and the relentless pursuit of precision medicine.

Christian Moldt, global health industry dealer and Partner at Pwc Germany has predicted the following trends for 2024. What will that mean for hiring talent in Life Sciences?

Biotech acquisitions to mitigate large pharma pipeline vulnerabilities will intensify competition amongst mid-size biotech adding to the on-going battle for specialist talent within investor interested therapies; GLP-1 specialists and precision medicine skillsets. This will continue the upward trends on basic salaries, flexible working, and competitive benefits to successfully onboard and retain talent in this space. Post merger companies will have to work extra hard to hold onto talent amongst a transformation period renewing the importance of talent insights to help retain staff.

CROs, CDMOs and Med-Tech companies with strong cash flows will be attractive sectors for investments, particularly those with GLP-1 capabilities. This will bolster the ongoing war for talent between service providers and biotech, with service provider’s ability to be more agile to attract talent when hiring attempting to overcome the stigma of poor work life balance in comparison to biotech and pharma companies.

Divesting non-core assets to keep costs down and generate cash leads to mass redundancies, reallocation of talent to other parts of the business or staff working for leaders they couldn’t choose themselves. Naturally this provides significant movement and a hunting ground for biotech and service providers to onboard talent, leaving large pharma vulnerable to loosing staff working on none-core assets.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): The potential of AI to revolutionize drug discovery underscores the growing trend of M&A aimed at accessing cutting-edge capabilities in this domain. Technical skillsets from outside of industry are being hired alongside profiles from life science backgrounds who understand and interpret the data, are to work in tandem ensuring a collaborative approach to cutting edge technology to help achieve company goals. The combined skill sets within a single profile are part of a global skills shortage creating a solution to hire relevant life science degree educated profiles in data analytics alongside a none-life science professional to avoid losing the innovation race in R&D.

January 2024 has shown a promising start, but on reflection, the industry has a long way to go to revisit the height of 179 IPOs across 2020-2021 in comparison to 38 between 2022-2023. Quiet optimism from the JP Morgan Conference paired with promising results from CG Oncology and ArriVent IPOs last week will build confidence in the sector amongst organisations looking for investor support to achieve their 2024 growth goals. With a clear preference for late-stage biotech, GPL-1 capabilities, precision medicine and innovation with AI, it is crucial for organisations to have executives that can keep up with the ever-changing market to steer the ship to success. I have seen an increase in demand for executive leadership assessment to ensure the appropriate board members are in place to achieve company goals. This is paired with increased need for market maps and insights to identify where skills shortage talent is based and how it can be accessed on a global scale. The combined effort of the appropriate leaders and a realistic hiring strategy is the silent key to ensuring business success and survival for 2024 in Life Sciences.

If you are a Life Science business in need of leadership assessment, market insights or assistance to achieve your 2024 growth goals through hiring, reach out using the below contact information to learn more about how we can tailor our solutions to your business needs.

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Emma Adams

E: [email protected]

T: 004420 7269 2119

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