Washu student path into biotech

I made a very similar post under VC so I’m going to make this one shorter: Pretty much l'm a WashU student studying biochemistry and minoring in business interested in entering the business side of biotech.

I'm looking for a good timeline to follow after undergrad including when (if at all) i should enter industry to gain experience directly at a biotech company (and what position i should try to work towards), if it makes more sense to enter life science consulting or VC first or instead, and if I need to get an MD or PhD/masters in a relevant science or mba at some point

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Define what you mean by the business side of biotech? If investing, I’d recommend getting a PhD or MD. I work at a large biotech/LS investment firm (RA/OrbiMed/Perceptive/etc) and the vast majority of IPs here have an MD/PhD (which is also consistent across the industry).

You should also be introspective and ask yourself why you want to do biotech. Most 22-23 year olds I’ve spoken to that are interested in biotech know close to nothing about the industry and are unable to articulate ‘why biotech’. As a rising freshman, you should look into some of the science and see if you find it interesting - it’s extremely early to commit to something you know so little about.

 
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I’m a rising sophomore. One of the major reasons I want to go into biotech is because I find the research to be extremely interesting, but I don’t want to be in a lab my whole life—that said I’d be fine with committing to a higher degree if it makes the most sense. I haven’t narrowed down what part of the business side quite yet, but there are a few areas that seem interesting to me: business strategy, fundraising, and clinical development/project management. I really want to develop knowledge and experience relevant to eventually starting my own biotech company or more accurately, being apart of a founding team. So with that said, I’d love to hear from people more knowledgeable in the field about a path on the business side that will best prepare me for this.

 

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