Biotechnology Equity Research/Venture Capital/Hedge Funds Career Path

I've been looking at careers in Finance for some time now, and I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to find work in ER with a focus on Biotechnology/Healthcare.

There are various reasons as to why I'd like to focus on this sector, but the main reason is because I see it having a substantial impact.

That's pretty vague and doesn't sound well thought through at all.

My question is, should I switch to a major in the sciences to better my chances of getting recruited after college?

You should major in a field that you're genuinely and deeply interested in, not because it's your flavor of the week career. The amount of time, commitment, and stress that studying biochemistry would entail is significant. I wouldn't study it just because you may or may not want to work in bioscience-focused ER some day.

My question is, is/are there specific routes an individual should take to land a job in this particular subfield?

I think you've picked way too narrow a field based upon very flimsy reasoning. If I had to guess, there are 100 analysts covering biotech globally. There are probably 20 associates (undergrad hires) working on these teams. Realistically, it will be very, very difficult for you to land a job in the field because it's so niche.

What you should do is examine your underlying motivations and figure out how you can realistically pursue a career that satisfies your interests. You mentioned that you liked bioscience because it "has a substantial impact." Try to define that interest more: maybe you like the scientific side of it, or you like that it touches a lot of consumers, or the social benefits, whatever. Or maybe it just sounds cool and you're actually not that into it, who knows. You need to back up and figure out this part first before selecting some very narrow career path.

You could be competing with MD's and PhD's for open positions. There's no comparison between their level of sector knowledge and experience to your (likely superficial) undergraduate learning.