Life Sciences 2023 Market Outlook | Daisy Tazelaar, Co-Founder & CEO

What has been going on in the life sciences market since the last time we spoke? What are your thoughts?

The biggest shift, Daisy says, has been the change of pace.

From a market point of view, a lot has happened in the last few years – the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis – that has had a significant impact on Panda’s clients.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic many clients had to rapidly hire people to ensure that they could develop much needed medical devices and solutions, such as vaccines and the equipment to support rollouts. 

One consequence of this shift, however, was the strain it put on life sciences organisations due to the sudden influx of new people.

This pressure meant that organisations had to revamp, Daisy says, to consider if they had everything in place to be ready for the next thing that was coming, and instead of panicking, they could take inventory of their current situation before beginning hiring again.

“Now, it’s slowed down quite a bit as the market is coming to terms with what has happened. When I’ve spoken to some of our global clients, some have slowed down in terms of hiring, whilst others have sped up their talent acquisition - for Panda, this has meant that we’ve remained agile in flexing our service for different needs at pace.”

In Europe specifically, what kind of exciting developments have you been seeing?

According to Daisy, Cell and gene therapy is the most prominent area of development.

This is in part due to cell and gene therapy being an area that has the potential to provide a significant change in healthcare.

“The exciting thing about that is that it’s extremely patient-driven but it needs a lot of adjustment from the companies. Consequently, many life sciences organisations are having to look ahead and plan accordingly. If there are sick patients, what can be done with clinical trials? It’s about making people aware and increasing the accessibility of clinical trials.”

The patient is always important, Daisy says, which has seen a shift from working on blockbuster drugs back when the focus was a bunch of patients and curing the majority.

“Now, we’re looking at how we can combine it – how can we cure the people and have less invasive therapies?”

Another area that is on the rise is mRNA, as a result of the vaccine rollout during the pandemic.

In short, there are a lot of trends happening, but cell and gene therapy is the big thing in the market at the moment.

In terms of what you’ve been doing in Europe, what would you say is the biggest draw to working at Panda with these trends in mind?

Impact, Daisy believes, is the primary element that draws people to work in life sciences recruitment (and at Panda).

“Cell and gene therapy specifically is an area that has an even greater impact on people, though all therapies impact people positively to some degree.

The personalised approach required for cell and gene therapy, however, and its ability to make treatment more accessible to all, is what truly draws people to the industry when they want to make positive change.

The greater good effect is still a key factor for those joining the industry and recruiting in it!”

Could you give any insights into what you’re seeing in the German life sciences industry?

“Germany is an extremely stable and strong market, as evidenced by recent reports.”

Daisy notes how many of Panda’s global clients are operating in Germany due to its strong economy and significant potential.

“It’s a market with a lot of potential. Germany has a lot of start-up and scale-up companies, combined with global companies, that make its market so dynamic and innovative.”

What Daisy sees in Germany’s market is the same thing she sees in other markets that Panda operates in – the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium – as a lot of them have great potential, clients that are willing to invest in their people, and a lot happening in the market. Put simply, Germany is an ideal environment for organisations of all sizes looking for a thriving life sciences market.

So the outlook for the Life Science Industry in Europe is extremely positive. But how can Panda help you take advantage of this? For more information on how we work and what we can do for your organisation, get in touch today.