Job Adverts, Industry News and Funding Annoucements

Welcome to the June edition of the Scienta Newsletter, Life Science Insights. For recruitment insights, latest news, and funding information - keep reading!

Is Your Job Advert Putting Drawing Talent In?

The life science industry is a competitive landscape for recruitment. Attracting the best talent requires more than just listing responsibilities. Your job advert needs to be a captivating message that resonates with qualified candidates and convinces them to apply.

Here’s how to structure your life science job advert to maximize engagement:

• Think about Your Ideal Candidate: Before you even start structuring your job advert, you need to think about who your ideal applicant is so you can tailor the content directly to them. The approach you would take with a commercial hire would be completely different to that of a scientific hire, as they have vastly different goals when it comes to a workplace. Will they care more about the benefits or about the science itself?
• The Heading: With every business having a slightly different organisational structure, by being too specific with the title you could be losing out on key talent that aren’t looking directly for that position. Rather than just heading your job advert with ‘Head of Clinical Operations Needed’, try and be a bit more specific about what the role will entail. For example, “Clinical Specialist to Manage Phase II Project in Immunology Project”. You should still use key job title terms throughout the advert to ensure you’re getting the right applicants, but optimise this initial element as it’s the first thing a prospective candidate will see.
• Sell the Opportunity, Not Just the Job: Life science professionals are passionate about making a difference. Focus on the impact of the role and how it contributes to the company’s mission. Showcase the exciting problems they’ll solve and the cutting-edge technologies they’ll use. Don’t just list generic duties; translate them into meaningful contributions. 
• Your Company Culture: Salary and benefits are important, but today’s talent seeks more. Which is where your company culture comes into play. Are you a collaborative team that values innovation? Do you offer work-life balance and professional development opportunities? Showcase what makes your company unique and a desirable place to work.
• Show, Don’t Tell: A well-structured advert uses bullet points and clear, concise language. Break down responsibilities into manageable chunks. Instead of just listing “experience with X software,” describe how that software is used in the specific role.
• Make Applying Easy: Don’t make them jump through hoops. Include a clear call to action with a user-friendly application process. Link directly to your application portal or provide clear instructions.

New enzyme targets hold promise for cancer therapies, Transforming drug discovery with AI, Personalized medicine approaches for sepsis based on immune response profiling, Precise protein design offers hope for damaged hearts and kidneys.

💸 May 2024 VC Biotech Funding Roundup (above $30million)💸

Overview📉

7% of all funding rounds included were in the Cell or Gene therapy space (0 were in the Cell Therapy space!)

🤔 Therapeutic indication breakdown

- 35% Oncology/Haematology

- 50% Immunology

- 21% Neurology/CNS

- 21% Metabolic conditions

- There is some crossover above due to broad pipelines. Others therapeutic areas were Cardio and Gastro!

🤑 Biggest funding raised - AltruBio Inc. - $225 million (series B) to  take an immune checkpoint enhancer through a midphase ulcerative colitis program.

☝ Top raisers ☝

▶ AltruBio Inc. - Series B - $225 million

▶ Zenas BioPharma - Series C - $200 million

▶ BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics - Undisclosed (likely Series A) - $200 million

▶ Bluejay Therapeutics - Series C - $182 million

▶Lycia Therapeutics - Series C - $106.6 million

▶ Attovia Therapeutics - Series B - $105 million

▶ Reunion Neuroscience - Series A - $103 million

📈Funds raised for each round 📈

Seed & Series A - 18%

Series B & C - 65%

Series D & on - 17%

For Lewis's key takeaways from this month's funding announcements, see the full post.

Thank you for reading this month's Scienta Life Science Insights! Keep an eye out for the next edition.