Job security. Although that phrase no longer means much in the increasingly volatile pharmaceutical sector, it resonates with scientists working in Cambridge — one of the most redundancy-proof regions of Europe for life scientists working in industry.
In the past few years, several pharmaceutical companies have either consolidated their research operation in southeast England following mergers, or shut down facilities entirely. But through all the turbulence, the Cambridge area has maintained relatively low unemployment compared with the national average — at least in part because employers in the many local science parks have absorbed staff let go by the drugs companies.
Changes in the Cambridge area in recent years have included Roche closing a facility in Welwyn and SmithKline Beecham downsizing a facility in Harlow after merging with Glaxo Wellcome which, in turn, cut its workforce in Stevenage. Area branches of Pfizer and Warner Lambert also reduced the number of employees when they combined.
As drugs companies consolidate, the number and size of biotech companies in the region has continued to increase. The critical mass created by these small companies, along with larger, more established firms and public-research institutions, means a positive climate for job seekers, a massive talent pool for recruiters and an ever-changing environment for both.
The existence of more than 160 biotech companies in the Cambridge area — many in the area's five research parks — makes employees feel more secure about their future. "They say, 'If it doesn't work out, there are 10 other companies I can join'," says Jeremy Fairbrother, senior bursar of Cambridge University's Trinity College and director of the Cambridge Science Park.
A CHANGE OF SCENE
Star turns: Cambridge's science parks have proved to be a great success for the area.
The concept of job security has changed greatly in the past few years. Not long ago, people working in the drugs industry expected to stay with one firm for their entire career. Allan Marchington — who is now general manager, Europe, at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts — recalls colleagues' reactions some years ago when he decided to leave a large, established firm to help start Cambridge Combinatorial, a small biotech company. People asked him: "What are you doing leaving? You have a secure job with Pfizer."
Of course, his stint in biotech hasn't exactly been static. Cambridge Combinatorial eventually became Cambridge Drug Discovery, before being bought by Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Millennium's UK branch will shortly complete an addition to its workspace, with plans to construct an even bigger building by 2003 — a typical plan in Cambridge, where it seems that every company has plans to move, build or both.
Marchington notes that two general types of people are in demand by the region's biotech companies: senior people from pharmaceuticals who are "disenfranchised by megamergers" and young people with creativity, energy and enthusiasm.
The veterans relish the prospect of a new challenge and the promise of less bureaucracy. Those qualities attracted two principals of RiboTargets — the first company to focus exclusively on developing drugs that target RNA — away from two separate companies that have since combined.
Research director Harry Finch sees his position at RiboTargets as a fitting culmination to a long career in pharmaceuticals. He spent 25 years with Glaxo Wellcome, rising to be director of chemistry before joining RiboTargets in 2001. "I'd always had it in my mind to come into a small company and have some fun," Finch says. "You can be nimble."
But RiboTargets' chief scientific officer, David Knowles, who came from SmithKline Beecham in 1999, notes that applicants for jobs at the new company also ask about its long-term financial security.
STABLE OUTLOOK
In light of all the consolidation, stability is increasingly important to young scientists. Sanger Centre postdoc Charles Cox felt so positive about his Cambridge prospects during a previous postdoctoral stint that he bought a house before he secured his existing post — a job that could easily last another five years. When that appointment runs out, he is confident he can find another without moving house.
Of course, postdocs here, as in other parts of Europe, face additional challenges (see 'Box 1 Mixed fortunes for postdocs'). And Cox may have been prescient in his purchase — the rising cost of housing is one infrastructure issue that may challenge the long-term vitality of the area (see 'Box 2 Infrastructure issues loom').
One of the traditional advantages of having a company in Cambridge — besides a postcode that offers cachet to venture capitalists — is the access to the scientific ideas that are generated nearby. Sometimes those, like employees, are liberated by mergers.
For example, Trevor Jarman, business development director of Alizyme — a company working on treatments for obesity and gastrointestinal disorders — recalls that SmithKline Beecham shelved renzapride, a potential treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, for strategic reasons. Once the company combined with Glaxo Wellcome, Alizyme snapped up the rights, and the compound is now midway through clinical trials.
The ripples of mergers can even reach academia. David James, chair of Cambridge University's department of pharmacology, notes that the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham will mean that a departmental research unit once funded by Glaxo Wellcome will soon be closed down. The new company no longer feels that funding the programme, which supports as many as three graduate students, is in its interests, says James. But he says there is some optimism that another drugs or a biotech company will step in and support it.
Despite all the volatility, many biotech companies in the area say that the net result of corporate transactions still leaves them short of qualified scientists. Martin Davies, managing director of BioRobotics, which designs and makes automation for molecular biology research, notes that the company can't wait around for drugs companies to merge or other small companies to founder, thus freeing up their labour pool. "Increasingly, we're looking outside the region," he says.
