Biotech Equity Research with no Science background

Have had similar thoughts though I'm in a diff place. Through my linkedin stalking most of sell-side ER is filled with STEM majors but the buyside looks different since (I'm extrapolating here but from my experience sounds correct) they care more about raw investing experience/knowledge/insight etc more than pedigree

It will be tough without the science background but you can learn certain things as you go. The only thing to consider is that depending on the intensity of a bank-specific group you could be floating in the science or be balls deep in it and have to make science-based decisions in your analysis. The level of science lebron may suffice in certain areas but it may be tougher elsewhere. E.g Tideglusib was a GSK-3 inhibitor used for Alzheimer's disease. Blocking that enzyme stopped accumulation of proteins that cause neurodegeneration and help Alzheimer's progress. It is also used in a process called apoptosis which is a programmed-cell death mechanism the body uses to kill potentially cancerous cells. By blocking it, this ability to kill potentially dangerous cells is inhibited and in some clinical studies the side effect of the treatment was cancer. Since this is quite severe it decreases the likelihood of clinical progression and FDA approval.

I don't know if THAT level of knowledge is needed to be a good ER analyst but it helps. Also, being able to read clinical studies and data helps.

I worked in IB covering biopharma at a lower tier BB, then at a late stage biotech VC / hedge fund, had ER offers at top tier biopharma ER and have started a venture backed biotech company, and I have no science background.

You can do ER in biotech without a science background but it will just require a bit more networking to make up for the lack of science background. Most ER associate job descriptions in biopharma list MD or PhD as a requirement, though that is not strict if you can otherwise prove you can do the job (ie more networking). Check out DOC jobs, a job board for PhDs / MDs, they post a new ER associate job almost every day.

Equity research in the past has focused mostly on clinical stage or later companies, where science knowledge is not as important. You will need to learn how to analyze clinical data, but that's something you can get up to a reasonable basic level of competence in a few months with practice. However, since 2015 there have been a massive amount of biotech IPOs, and many of them (esp the hottest deals) are preclinical. Evaluating those companies is really all about the science. You will need to be conversant in molecular and cell biology, the drug discovery and development process, basic biochemistry, pharmacokinetics, translational research, etc. You need to be able to read scientific papers, understand them in detail and critically analyze them (maybe not as much in ER, but on the buyside, especially in VC, that skill is critical).

You will also be competing with young PhD students, who lack finance knowledge, but you won't be able to match their science knowledge. They also have much lower salary thresholds -- if you are doing a PhD you make $40-60K / year, and your job prospects aren't that great.

It is...hard. But you can do it. And it is a very in demand and rare skillset these days, and the biotech market is growing like crazy, but if you invest in that skillset it will not open any doors beyond biotech, because it is such an idiosyncratic field. Personally, I could not imagine working in any other finance related field. It is such a growing area, there is so much room to add value and build, but you really eat what you kill especially if you don't have a science background

Coursera (tons of biotech courses, check Johns Hopkins) Equity research reports, especially the industry primers (Morgan Stanley had a great biotech one) Part-time online masters from Johns Hopkins in biotech Part or full-time masters in-person in biotech at UPenn

I work in pharma corp dev and I can tell you it's difficult without the science background. Estimating regulatory approval success rates, uptake curves and brand substitution, peak sales estimates from patient based models, etc., is difficult without truly understanding the clinical benefit of the products and its risks/advantage.

You don't really know how successful your marketing campaign will be (i.e., ability to get docs to write scripts). You often feel like you're forecasting in the dark without the broader context.

It's a bit different in corpdev because we have internal SMEs that provide guidance. We also have the ability to engage external consultants. So not sure if its comparable to ER.

Did Healthcare M&A and Equity Research - mainly in pharma, and medical devices for a year. Have a brother who specialized in pre clinical trial drug, as a management consultant.

Most people that I know in that areas are physicians or at least have PhD in medical fields. My brother finished with a Master degree in Pharmacy and he feels like he needs a PhD to do well in this field.

I never took classes in medical science area and won't encourage this path (consulting, vc, pe, mgt consulting in healthcare sector) without the medical academic background. Better stick with easier to understand areas like consumer sector for equity research.