Hays Pharma - July 2010
Hotspots
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of bio-manufacturing positions, which stems from continued inward investment in the area. Abbott Nutrition's recently opened powder plant has played a large role. Many more companies are planning on doing the same over the next year or so in order to take advantage of economies of scale and reduced costs per hire.
The coming quarter
More and more pharmaceutical companies are moving in to Singapore, attracted by its access to the rest of Asia as well as Government initiatives and financial incentives. As a result job vacancies will remain at a healthy level, particularly within commercial functions and Medical Affairs.
Executive recruitment
There have been a few recent examples of certain firms hiring at Executive level, such as Medical Directors. Most companies are opting to relocate their upper management from mature markets such as the US or Europe.
Employer trends
More companies are looking at centralisation as a possible cost cutting measure. Eisai is the latest to re-organise by centralising their R&D function back to Japan. They've also relocated their regional Asia office to China but kept a sales & marketing function in Singapore.
Candidate trends
There are more senior level candidates available following these restructures, many of whom are not keen to relocate to China.
