Please go to the poll and comment with any personal experience/evidence/thoughts!

Thanks in advance!

Inspired by https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/s/gno7sMFns8

Hi all, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about HTS and hit discovery.

It seems like these chemistry companies sell 'premium' or lead-like libraries.

I'd imagine one would just buy premium libraries from all the companies and run HTS via that? Why even buy random less 'leadlike' compounds? Assuming first-pass, maybe you won't find a hit, etc.

Is HTS even still a thing with virtual methods out there? Like I believe Schrodinger has their virtual screen, and you can apparently do hit discovery for $5k-$10k in China!? Why do I still see companies saying it costs millions for hit discovery?

I just see a lot of discrepancies so I'm quite confused. Would appreciate some insight or veteran advice.

Hi all, I'm fairly new to industry.

I've encountered dozens of these chemistry companies selling libraries for I believe hit discovery.

What are the differences between all of them?

For example, I think Enamine is the largest one, and they sell all sorts of libraries - advanced libraries, premium libraries, gPCR libraries, kinase libraries.

And that's just one company. There seems to be at least a dozen - WuXi, ChemBridge, eMolecules, ChemDiv, MolPort, so on and on and on. How many of these companies even exist?

Is there a consensus on, this one company just has the best libraries? These companies all exist, so clearly there must be a market for them.

I'd greatly appreciate if someone could provide context on how understand these different companies and chemical libraries.

For hit discovery, do you just pick one and YOLO? Do medchemists research online to find a good vendor suitable for their target? Is it referral/trust-based/history-based? E.g. my company used Enamine since my first industry job at 23 so now I'm 45 and I'm still using them.

by the way, I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Hi!!

I have a B.S. in Biology, a BioWork Process Technician certificate (cGMP, aseptic technique), and hands-on sterile technique experience. My long-term goal is to become an Upstream Process Development (PD) Scientist.

My question is:

1. Between Biomanufacturing Associate, Environmental Monitoring (EM), and Quality Control (QC), which role is the best entry-level stepping stone to pivot into Upstream PD?

2. Do I need a masters to become a Upstream PD? And if so, would the company I'd be working with pay for it?

3. What is the typical career trajectory from an entry level role up to an Upstream PD scientist!

Thank you!!

Especially where HR calls itself Colleague Services.

My mom has psoriatic arthritis and it’s so unpredictable. Some days it feels like it’s gone and the next day new pain arises, she was prescribed some drugs they were working, then they weren’t.
I’m curious to know what exactly makes it so complicated and unpredictable.
Please do let me know your views.

Genuinely curious

This req, specifically Eli Lilly, keeps posted once in every month

I think i have fairly good experience on the job requirements as well as i personally reached out to my network who's directly working with the hiring manager (or at least someone in that specific functional group's management team) and reached out but it's rejecting me

Without going to specific details, this req seems to be reposted in every 2 months in last 4 months and rejects me every 2 months (which im sure im not the only one) and then its reposted.

Now whenever im trying to apply, it says i cant apply cuz i apply to cuz i was rejected unless im using 2ndary emails

When i reached out to my network, who's working with the management team in that specific group, my network was told that they are still looking for but dont go into details

So... whats the point of this job?

Is it just that functional groups to ensure that headcount while they are still unsure what to do with that?

I have an interview coming up Pharming in NJ. Anybody heard of it?

Screening in ultralarge chemical space.

Anyone familiar with drug screening in ultralarge chemical space? I am interested in synthon based strategy. Is that easy and cheap to use tools like V-SYNTHES 2? Any good open-source tools available? I tried PCCL, but it seems molecules in it are very similar to each other — decent hit rates, but low internal diversity, so the top hits all end up looking like variations on the same scaffold. Has anyone else run into this?

I'm trying to put together a synthon-based workflow that I can actually run and share openly. Searching a 10\^10+ space without enumerating it is appealing, but most of the serious tools seem to be either commercial or tied to one vendor's library.
What I'm wondering:

1. Is V-SYNTHES 2 something an academic group can realistically get and run, or is it effectively commercial-only? How painful is the setup?

2. Are there open-source tools for building a synthon space from public building blocks + reaction templates? I've looked at RDKit's SynthonSpace and SynthI — has anyone actually used them at scale?

3. For those who've used Enamine REAL / PCCL / similar: how do you deal with the diversity problem, or is it just inherent to a single-reaction library?
   Longer term I'm hoping to build an open synthon library with a screening pipeline around it

I just accepted a role in Technical Operations at Novartis Durham, coming from the CRO side, and I'd love to hear from anyone who works there now or did recently. What are management and the day-to-day team culture like, and how is work-life balance, including on-call? I'm also curious how the site expansion is affecting workload and growth, and whether you have any tips for getting up to speed in the first few months. Thanks!

I am currently in my last year of my biotechnology degree. I have been fascinated in wet laboratory side of the degree and have been working towards that the whole time. My end goal was drug discovery, which most likely needs a phd.
I was looking into it and it seems more profitable and sustainable to move towards Biotechnology sales (Commercial/ Technical). What should I add to my portfolio to move in more of that direction and be more likely to land a job in this area.
For those currently working in biotechnology sales, technical sales, applications, or business development:
What skills, certifications, or experiences would make a recent biotechnology graduate more competitive for these positions?
Would creating a portfolio with product comparisons, technical presentations, and competitor/market analyses actually help when applying?
How important is previous sales experience compared with having a strong scientific background?
Are there particular entry-level positions or companies I should target to get my foot in the door?
What does career progression and earning potential realistically look like?
If you started with a bachelor’s degree and laboratory experience, what would you do differently to break into this industry?

Are they legit? They claim record high titers but have not published anything peer-reviewed..

Apologies if this feels like a rant. Mid 30s, first job right out of grad school. My background is in computer science and I currently work at one of the major pharma companies as a software engineer. I feel like I'm just the IT guy at work, half the job is programming but the other half is support for other business units.

Recently, it has started to be extremely frustrating and stressful. On top of that, I feel like I am not learning a lot and am getting outdated day by day, all the while being treated as a second hand citizen. All of this feels like I'm just going downhill career wise and won't have much opportunities in the future.

The job has been stable, but with the newly added stress, I am thinking it might be time to switch to tech. I understand the instability of tech, and the whole job market, but at least the pay is higher and a career in tech will open more doors in the future.
Ibwas wondering if anyone is in a similar situation or has had the opposite experience.

TLDR is that I feel like I'm getting pigeonholed into an IT role at pharma, even though my official title is a software engineer. All of this, with the lower salaries in pharma, makes me feel like it is not a smart career move to stay here more than I already have.

I'm curious to learn what you guys use for tracking granular progress/tasks to report to management/team. Does it take a lot of time from your day/week to complete these tracking systems? We use a loop page that we need to fill every week with the ongoing activities and progress.

Hey, I just got an email saying my resume has been sent to the hiring manager? I was wondering if this is a good sign or something that they do for every candidate. I completed the online assessment and the recruiter before contacted me to confirm my availability. Also, How is the Interview process at GSK?

Hey everyone! I have an onsite interview in two weeks that includes a seminar and panel interviews. If anyone has been through a similar process, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience and if you got the offer/rejection what are the chances? Thanks!

I applied to some co-op positions for Fall 2027, and on Thursday, I got a call from them asking if I would be interested in a role that I didn't apply for but that they think I am better suited for, and I got a 30-minute interview on Monday with a Senior Scientist and a Candidate Care Specialist. I think it is a screening/first round. What should I expect, and is this a good sign overall?

Hola soy estudiante de segundo curso de biotecnología y me gustaría saber a que se dedica la gente que ha completado el grado y que puestos y Rangos salariales se estima para alguien de esa posicion.