I’m a junior at a semi target. Have a sophomore internship at a reputable HF and have a junior summer lined up at a somewhat well known growth equity firm. None of these relate to healthcare or life sciences, and I am not a science major. I have recently discovered an interest in biopharma investing. What would be the best way for me to get there? Healthcare IB? Or is it a biopharma investing seat feasible out of undergrad?
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Hi Intern in HF - EquityHedge, any of these threads helpful:
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If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...
You’re gonna need to know the science. So AT LEAST an undergrad degree in the life sciences will be needed. Hopefully changing degrees is feasible in your situation
Most funds only hire MDs or PhDs - it’s even hard to break in with just a bachelors in biology
Changing degrees is not really feasible in my situation, I'm a third year already :( Am I out of luck here?
I mean if there’s a will there’s a way….I don’t want to totally discourage you but it would be tough. Maybe you could get an MS in biology / biotech or something to bolster that side of your resume.
There are very science heavy healthcare / biotech hedge funds (usually long only) that I have seen hires people with science degrees (MD, PhD, PharmD, DO).
MM shops hire everyone even without a science degree, but you need a top tier BB or ER on your resume.
For Medtech, I would say I have seen decent number of people with pure finance background.
100%. Firms like Deerfield or Perceptive almost exclusively hire PhDs or MDs.
But have had a bunch of friends outside of the Biotech-specific funds get hired into life-sci pods at places like Milco or Baly from ER and even one from banking who went to Surveyor at citadel.
What is Milco and Baly? Never heard of those
That's why I absolutely HATE covering biotech, and healthcare in general, as a banker. I don't come from a biology/medical school background, and to jump to good buyside gigs is harder since most require a medical science background.
I beg you not to pigeonhole yourself in this sector if you did not study a relevant major in college.
Don’t listen to anything leveraged buyout is saying. I will come back and repost my thoughts in the morning. In short, you are fine.
Let's hear it then
TLDR: as a STEM major myself (engineering, not one of the other "sciences") you don't need a STEM degree to be a biotech investor.
Having a Ph.D. (we'll assume a biology related Ph.D. in this scenario) imo gives you two skillsets. You understand relevant terminology, which is half the battle. And you are able to absorb/digest medical literature/publications more easily than someone without the advanced degree. Sure the biology is complex, but if we are talking about oncology, generally there are only a couple main methods the drug is trying to stop the cancer (e.g., blocking a receptor, activating/deactivating a specific pathway, removing a certain protein). Which pathway/receptor/protein is being targeted is a different story. As you can imagine our bodies are an infinitely complex system
There are certainly firms, like Bueller Banker pointed out that almost exclusively hire Ph.D.s or MDs (which is the more relevant degree in my opinion. understanding the clinical landscape and wholistic biology is much more advantageous than one hyperspecific area you gain expertise in as a PhD). But there are also firms that dont have this as a hard requirement.
The more important thing is knowing the landscape. What drugs are standard of care for an indication? What drugs are in development, and why may they potentially be approved or not?
I broke into the industry by starting at a well respected ER shop under a great analyst, knowing next to nothing before I joined. I exhibited grit and determination to learn during my interviews, having started my own website publishing research content and models for a few biotech/medtech companies. This was instrumental for my recruiting. During that year I learned a ton and the knowledge is recognized by my peers on the banking side.
The internet is a sea of information and you have more tools at your disposal than any generation before. Take advantage is that. I'm happy to help over DM.
Even though your internship is not HC related, is there a HC group that you could network with or learn from? If not, use that summer as affirmation that you are passionate about biotech/biopharma, and leverage that in your interviews. Lifescience IB and biotech/biopharma ER are the next logical steps if you want to eventually be in a biotech investing seat.
So in short, if I go into lifesicnece IB/ER, only having a bachelors in finance will not screw me over as much as people are saying it will?
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