Need advice/input/criticism on moving from biotech to something tangential to IB

Hi folks,

Before I begin, I do understand that the career transition I am hoping to make (and describing) isn’t directly IB. I do believe my target groups work closely with IB for a number of reasons (mainly on the transaction side during acquisitions) so I am hoping you all can provide some unbiased input.

A little background: I currently work for a large pharmaceutical company (think JJ, Pfizer, Merck) on the R&D side. I have been working quite diligently on moving to business development through mentor relationships, obtaining small responsibilities with external groups (think secondment like work to get experience), and obtaining more education through a PT MBA (think GWU, JHU, etc.). My goal would be to end up in a group like valuation, search and evaluation, M&A on the pharma side. However, this move is quite difficult as the BD groups staffed to pharma are quite small and they tend to house folks who come in with straight BD background (eg consulting, IB). I’m quite certain I can handle the basic skills like modeling, research, etc. I am certain my interests lie in the intersection of science, finance and transactions but it’s quite challenging to gain traction. 
 

Question: I’m wondering if I’d be more competitive if I left pharma and obtained some external role in something like M&A to get more experience or if it’s even worth throwing my scientific history/experience away for? Am I even competitive to apply for these roles? How do you folks feel with applications from people with careers/education that fall outside the standard norm?

Basic background: former marine corps, summa cum laude at state school, PhD from top university, part-time MBA from notable school (PT though, not really opening doors and was completed more to learn basics like corporate finance, etc.). About 5 years WE (excluding military) and total comp around 150k with a career that offers few raises/promotions outside of standard COL adjustments and promotions every 5 years at 10-12% raise.

Challenges: not in a hub (Midwest and can’t move for a few years), no real experience in finance or strategy 

thanks for your time