Biopharmaceuticals (biopharma) and biotechnology (biotech) are terms that both laypeople and professionals alike often confuse or assume that they mean the same thing. The confusion is easy to understand since both represent critical disciplines in healthcare and represent innovative breakthroughs and technologies that save lives. Despite the overlap between biopharma and biotech, the two fields focus on different specialties.
Scientists who work in the field of biopharma develop drugs used to treat various medical conditions from complex combinations of human-made chemicals. Those in the biotech industry create new medicines from living organisms like plants. Newly manufactured drugs in each industry require regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, biopharma organizations must file a New Drug Application, while the FDA requires biotech companies to submit a Biologics License Application.
Biopharmaceuticals
Scientists in the biopharma field use various forms of biotechnology, which is the process of transforming living organisms into complex molecules. Common examples of living organisms include antibodies, nucleic acids, and proteins. Once the new medications have gone through clinical trials and received FDA approval, doctors use them to treat a range of injuries, diseases, and health conditions.
Scientists in the biopharma field also use biotechnology to create vaccines to prevent communicable diseases and gene therapies to modify genetic abnormalities present in hereditary conditions.
The future of biopharma
Mordor Intelligence released a report in early 2024 indicating that the current market size of the biopharma industry is 516.79 billion dollars. The research organization predicts that the market size will jump to 761.80 billion dollars by 2029. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the upward trend as researchers scrambled to produce effective vaccines for most of the American population.
The top five pharmaceutical companies in the United States as of 2024 are Abbvie Inc., Amgen Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company, and Johnson & Johnson. America is known around the world as a leader in biopharma innovation, and that can only happen with a robust research and development system.
Employment in biopharma
The biopharma industry employs 900,000 people while supporting another 4.4 million jobs. The combined national output from the biopharma industry exceeded 1.4 trillion dollars in 2023. Biopharma remains a competitive industry, and employers can struggle to find the best candidates among a pool of talented applicants. Biopharma consulting firms can help.
Biotechnology
Biotech is a broader industry than biopharma because it serves more industries. The most common ones include agriculture, industry, and medicine. Biology is at the heart of everything scientists employed in this field do. They use biomolecules, cells, and living organisms to create new processes and products.
Biotech in agriculture
Some examples of products in the agricultural industry made from the biological activities of microorganisms include alcoholic beverages like beer and wine, bread, and cheese. Biotech processes have also been responsible for the creation of genetically modified farm crops that can better withstand the threats of disease and pest damage. Agricultural technology created using biotechnology, such as microbiome soil management, has helped farmers see better yields each season.
Biotech in industry
Biotech processes have contributed to positive environmental change by creating new materials and chemicals like biofuels and bioplastics. These products are more sustainable than those made from petroleum, which offers promising advances in environmental stewardship.
Biotech in medicine
Like biopharma, the field of biotechnology has been instrumental in the creation of new therapies and drugs, including vaccines. One of the most exciting advances in biotech is targeted therapy, a cancer treatment that targets only malignant cells in a patient’s body without having a negative impact on healthy cells.
The future and employment trends in biotech
According to a 2022 press release, 127,000 biotech organizations employed 2.1 million people in 2021. The industry contributed 2.9 trillion dollars to the American economy that year as well. The demand for employees with education and experience in the biotech field will remain strong in 2024 and beyond. While other industries lost around 1.5 percent of their employment bases, positions in biotech have increased by 11 percent over the past five years.
Moderna and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals are two of the biggest names in the biotech industry. However, smaller organizations also played a pivotal role in getting COVID-19 vaccines to the public in a much shorter time than it normally takes to develop vaccines and gain FDA approval. Regardless of a biotech company’s size, many turn to biotech consulting to help discover and onboard the most talented people in the industry.
Biotech vs Biopharma Consulting
Cornerstone Search Group, an executive search firm dedicated solely to the life sciences industry, serves clients in both biopharma and biotech. Below are brief descriptions of the services we offer to those in both sectors. We tailor our approach based on your industry and hiring needs, resulting in a truly customized experience.
- Candidate assessment: We use a proven process to create a strong candidate pool, conduct interviews and skills assessments, and work as a go-between with candidates your company has decided to hire and your organization.
- Department buildouts: Cornerstone assists with filling in the missing talent in any of your company’s departments.
- Executive search: We find the applicants and then assess the candidates.
- Growth expansions: When your company is ready to grow, we find the talent to help it achieve a higher market share.
- Leadership development: Developing leaders takes time you may not have. We help your employees get to the next level.
- Market mapping: Feeling squeezed by the competition? We offer valuable insight to improve your standing via market mapping.
- Talent pipelining: Your organization may not have hiring needs right now, but it will eventually. Building relationships with prospective talent now is an efficient way to fill jobs when the time comes.
This is an exciting time in the biopharma and biotech industries, and Cornerstone Search Group is available to position your organization for maximum growth. Put our decades of experience to work for you. Request a consultation to learn more about how we can join forces with your human resources department and recruit the best people the life sciences field has to offer.
