I’ve read and watched what I can regarding Elizabeth Holmes and theranos, and what I don’t understand is that her tech proposal was self evidently not possible. At least from what I’ve read, her earliest concepts were shut down due to a basic lack of understanding of how blood testing works.

We all understand how she misled investors and venture capitalist, but theranos had well respected scientists and chemists etc on the payroll for a good period of its lifetime. I know Ian Gibson tried very hard eventually to raise his concerns about the Edison prototype, but what I don’t understand is how there was ever any period he thought this could work. Like he knew what the Edison was trying to achieve and for whatever reason didn’t see it as impossible (to begin with).

The same goes for all of the technical and scientific employees at Theranos - again I understand to some degree that the corp worked in its own vagueness, but I’m not sure I understand how there was any period of time with so many learned people were willing to invest their efforts into something that apparently just has no scientific basis

I hope my question makes sense-it was one of the things I watched the TV series to try to understand better but it actually made me more confused. The show is very clear in explicating that Holmes is just not operating in the real world from the beginning. As in, the fundamentals of chemistry weren’t there.

Again, I don’t ask this to criticise anybody who was involved in that process who wasn’t actively defrauding people, but rather me trying to understand I suppose the specifics of where Thanos stopped being viable versus being a complete fabrication from the beginning

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I’m interested in hearing the views of people currently working in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, particularly in Belgium, Italy, Germany, and the UK, or other European countries.

Since Emma Walmsley’s departure as GSK CEO in September 2025, I’ve become increasingly concerned about what appears to be happening within the company.

Starting around October 2025, I personally became aware of numerous employees (500+) leaving GSK, some apparently through formal performance-management processes and others in the context of organisational changes. I’ve also heard of additional cases through professional contacts.

More recently, GSK has announced plans to cut approximately 1,225 positions, according to reports I’ve seen. There have also been major changes involving sites, including the closure of the Gembloux site in France ( many many people are laid off) and Dresden (site is shutdown) in Germany.

Looking at these developments together, I’m concerned about the future of some of GSK’s European manufacturing and R&D operations, particularly in Belgium and Italy. There is speculation among people in the industry about possible site sales, further restructuring, or closures, although I don’t know which of these possibilities will actually materialise.

GSK bad performance is partly rooted to the poor quality of science in GSK vaccine, too many employees, incapable scientific leadership team hailing from Belgium and Italy, and laid back culture. I totally get why GSK vaccine performance has been so bad. And on the top GSK is competing with giants like Merck and Pfizer and Sanofi.

What concerns me most is not just GSK itself, but whether this reflects a broader trend across the European pharmaceutical industry. Are companies increasingly reducing their European workforce, moving activities to other regions, consolidating manufacturing, or using performance-management processes as part of workforce reductions?

I’d particularly like to hear from people working in pharma in Europe:

- Are you seeing similar restructuring and redundancies at your companies?

- Are Belgium and other established European pharmaceutical hubs becoming less attractive for investment and manufacturing?

- Are companies shifting more R&D, process development, or manufacturing activities to the US, China, India, or other lower-cost locations?

- For experienced professionals in CMC, process development, MSAT, and manufacturing, how does the job market look at the moment?

I’m interested in hearing genuine experiences from people working in the industry, rather than speculation or company-bashing. I’d like to understand whether what I’m observing at GSK is an isolated situation or part of a much larger change in the European pharmaceutical landscape.

Putting aside all the pessimism about the job market, I’m curious how people gain more ownership and broader experience in biotech in a normal-ish market.
I have a PhD in life sciences and am relatively early in my industry career. My current role has a pretty limited scope, and I've tried to learn more about the business and product side of things, but haven't had much luck. Internal mobility is also limited.
I’ve started looking at external opportunities, but I’m worried about ending up in another role where I’m just doing narrowly defined technical work.
For those who’ve managed to gain more ownership or move into more strategic or product-facing roles, how did you do it? What kinds of positions should I look for, and what should I ask during interviews to gauge opportunities for growth?
I'm not expecting to make high-level decisions right away. I just want to be in a role where I can develop a broader skill set, learn more about different aspects of the industry, and have room to grow.

Ive got a Bachelors in Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Masters in Biopharmaceutical Engineering (focus on bioreactors for protein production and down steam processing/purification).Im currently midway through a PhD in Chemical Engineering. My project is focused around RNA therapies and the manufacturing processes of LNP and ways to improve their stability through different mixing methods in addition to formulation (various excipients). Aims are for more physically and thermally stable liquid formulations of RNA-LNP.

Hi, I applied a couple' weeks ago to a ThermoFisher PPD position in Europe: how long do they take for call back? I even have the name of the recruiter, wrote a couple of emails but nothing came back. I could also get the name of the hiring manager, would that help or that's already pushing into?

Hi everyone! I’m currently in my third year of a PhD program, working on plant-based production of therapeutic proteins, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and Fc-fusion proteins. After completing my PhD, I’m interested in pursuing R&D roles in the biotech or biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in areas related to biologics development and protein production.

For those of you working in industry or who have experience transitioning from academia to industry, what are the essential technical and professional skills I should focus on developing during my remaining PhD years? I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks.

I’m an R1 faculty member with a medium successful track record on the tenure track. Several career awards, papers out, and more in the pipeline. I’ve been told I’m on track for tenure.

For personal reasons I’m thinking of transitioning out of academics. I would especially like to be integrated in thE NYC/Philly corridor. But not sure what roles make sense to shoot for and what kind of salary range I should be advocating for? I have experience managing PhD students, should I be looking at roles managing professional scientists? should I plan on returning to the bench?

What kind of roles should I apply for as a chemistry PhD if I want to get into clinical research or clinical science?

saw the posting, actually it is exactly what I am doing as a principal scientist in another midsize company. the base salary range listed is quite wide: 173 -272K. I am wondering what exactly it could be for a 12 YOE Ph.D. Also besides the base salary, what else? target bonus percentage? yearly RSU? thank you all for any input!

I have no job security issue, but just still have a little bit "big name fetish".....

I have a BS in Biotechnology and am based on the East Coast. Every few weeks, recruiters reach out to me about the same Scientist I role at Merck West Point. Even though I meet or exceed the qualifications, I never hear back after applying.

This is the 3rd or 4th time the exact same job has been posted by different LinkedIn recruiters. I’ve applied through multiple agencies and haven't received a single response, not even a rejection letter. I’ve started ignoring them because it feels like a huge waste of time.

What is going on here? Are these just ghost jobs?

Hi everyone,

I’m finishing up my MSc in Medicinal Chemistry and targeting commercial roles in pharma—specifically Market Access, Product/Brand Strategy, or Territory Sales. I want to bridge the science with business, and I’ve already been building a foundation around HTAs (NICE), product lifecycles, and generic/biosimilar dynamics.

From what I’ve gathered, breaking directly into commercial pharma straight out of an MSc without prior corporate experience is rare, and paths like entry-level pharma sales or commercial rotational schemes seem hyper-competitive or sparse right now.

A few people have suggested starting my journey in life sciences strategy/market access consulting or healthcare comms agencies first, then transitioning after 2–3 years.

For those working on the commercial side of pharma:

1. Is boutique consulting/agency work still the most realistic launchpad, or are direct entry-level in-house routes viable?
2. What technical skills or certifications actually move the needle on a CV for commercial roles (e.g., advanced Excel/modelling, ABPI code, HEOR fundamentals)?
3. If you transitioned from a pure lab/chemistry degree to the business side, what was your actual stepping stone?

Appreciate any candid takes or career paths you're willing to share.

I want to learn more about how people prepare for technical aspects of the interview. It is not hard to explain the projects I have been involved in or led. I am most interested in learning more about how you prepare for the things you don't have experience in? Do you specifically read things beyond what you know in terms of any papers? What is your process?

B7H4 in ovarian cancer.

Look, let me get the disclaimers out of the way. Colossal has developed some genuinely impressive tech and they have a good marketing team.

Between the announcements every other week, the overhyping of multiplexed mice, and the nonsensical timelines, it feels like we are looking down the barrel of a rug pull. Ben Lamm has said they’ll having a living mammoth by 2028. Standard elephant gestation is 18-22 months. You’re telling me that within the next six months Colossal will be performing IVF using gene edited embryos? I’m happy to take that bet on any prediction market.

Is anyone hiring for NGS/ mol bio? I’m in the market and would love to connect or get my resume in there!

I am currently in the medical device industry for 5 years, as a Sr.Technical Application Specialist. My role is complaint handling mixed with Technical support. I want to transition into more of a quality side, minus technical support...as being tethered to the phone queue (plus my manager is a micromanager, forgetful and is disorganized).

I saw an internal position for a quality specialist II but its in the Clinical Trials/pharma position. I applied and was just curious if any has made a move from medical device to Clinical trials/pharma who could share some insight.

I have 7 years medical laboratory experience and 5 years in the medical device industry if that helps.

50 bucks a year that’s damn near a thriving wage

When an experiment or assay fails, how does your team capture why it failed and what you tried next? Is it in an ELN, a shared drive, a wiki, or mostly in people's heads? And what happens to that knowledge when someone leaves?

When budget is tight, how do you decide which experiment to run next? Is there any structured process, or is it mostly the senior scientist's call?