News

The Board of PIR International, a leading provider of executive search and interim services to the global life science industry, today announced the finalisation of an MBO with the executive team of the business, Sally Hope, Stuart Penney, and Tom Bradley, who will acquire the majority of shares from the founder, Carolyn Douthwaite. Carolyn founded the business in 2006, initially focused on the provision of senior interims to major life science companies. Since then, the range of services has evolved, in line with client demand, and particularly the growth of the services to early stage, investor backed biotechs. This has [...]

As formerly rock-solid revenue streams dry up, many life sciences companies are paying closer than ever scrutiny to operating costs. With people costs one of the greatest, pressure is on the human resources team to prove its value. In this article, Tom Bradley discusses how the hiring process can be sharpened up, leading to improved accountability and clarity of HR’s value to the business.Rationalisation, leverage of scale, consolidation, efficiencies: this is the ‘new normal’ for the global pharmaceutical industry. Whether it’s grappling with so-called patent cliffs, price cuts and reimbursement restrictions, increasing regulation, competition from generic manufacturers – perhaps even [...]

When companies complain that they can’t find enough good people, the cause, in my view, is most likely to be deep-rooted and centered on a misalignment between the strategic goals of the business and the efforts of the company’s talent acquisition professionals. In this article, I outline the approach I took as a talent acquisition leader at Pfizer and offer some ideas that you can implement right away. But before I do, here are four breakthrough ideas to bridge the gap. Earn a Seat at the Table The root causes for the misalignment between people and business goals are [...]

Last month, Amber Tong, Senior Editor at Endpoints, chaired a panel of Europe's leading VC investors during the Anglonordic life science conference where they were asked 'What Are The Hot Investment Areas?' Amber was joined by a fantastic panel consisting of Hakan Goker, Deborah Harland, Nanna Lüneborg, and Stephan Christgau. The discussion was extremely captivating, the investors spoke about a range of things including how the pandemic has impacted their business, the essential components to building a successful biotech, and the current hot markets for investment. Watch the panel discussion again here.

In May 2020 Kate Bingham was appointed Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, reporting to the Prime Minister to lead UK efforts to find and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine. This was a six month engagement which Kate stepped down from in December 2020. On December 8th 2020 the UK kicked off its vaccination programme, the first Western country to do so. In recognition of the world-beating and extraordinary success of the UK’s vaccination programme, Kate has been included on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and awarded a well deserved damehood for her services to the procurement, manufacture and distribution [...]

PIR International recently hosted a panel of Biotech industry experts on the topic of ‘Building your Board’ during the 17th Anglonordic life science conference, doing a deep dive on all things necessary to set-up a successful Board for all stages of growth. As anticipated, it was expertly hosted by Maureen Coleman. Maureen was joined by a superb panel of Eva-Lotta Allen, Edwin Moses, Patrick Vink and Melanie Lee. The discussion was tremendously insightful, providing healthy debate and conversation around all aspects of Board composition, diversity, structure, culture and much more. The utilisation of independent board members, why and when [...]

The changes to IR35 legislation are fast approaching, coming into effect in the UK private sector, which includes the Biotech and Life Science industry, at the start of the new tax year on the 6th April 2021. These changes are designed to collect Income Tax and National Insurance and reduce tax avoidance by contractors, who are believed to be “disguised employees”. Those affected by the changes to IR35 are: Workers who provide their services through an intermediary. Businesses who receive services from a worker through an intermediary. Agencies providing workers’ services as an intermediary. The UK Biotech and Life [...]

About PIR International PIR International has a long and established reputation in the provision of seasoned interim professionals. As a result, since 2005, we have been trusted by Life Science companies to deliver technical and leadership expertise to support their success; start a new venture; bridge a skill gap; deliver a critical scientific or commercial milestone, and to develop and mentor high potential aspiring leaders. About Chris An example of one of these seasoned interim professionals is Medical Director, Chris Lee. PIR International has enjoyed collaborating with Chris over a number of years. During this time he has utilised [...]

As part of PIR International’s planned expansion, its leadership team are pleased to announce the opening of its European office in The Netherlands and the incorporation of PIR International BV. PIR International will use this presence to further its already established relationships across Europe, in key biotechnology and life science hubs, in serving its growing customer base. The opening of the legal entity, PIR International BV, in Amsterdam seeks to ground PIR International firmly in Europe in acknowledgement of the importance of international collaboration and relationships that form the bedrock of the biotechnology and investor community. PIR International’s Managing Partner, [...]

Registration is open for the 17th Annual Anglonordic Life Science Conference taking place on 26th May 2021 at the County Hall, London. Anglonordic is the only life science conference in the UK that is exclusively for European investors and R&D companies from the Nordics and the UK to connect with each other. With an established format of panel discussions, parallel technology and biotech investment rooms, plus 1:1 meetings, this one and a half day London conference provides exceptional value. Networking begins on the evening before the conference at an exclusive reception at The Danish Ambassador's Residence in London. Investors with [...]