The Most Exciting Companies in Biotech

May 28, 2015
By Aja Frost for BioSpace.com

Many employees don’t have the luxury of choosing exciting jobs. They pick their position or workplace based on more quotidian concerns: paying their bills, getting a stable job and receiving good benefits.

But the awesome part about working in biotech? You can get all those perks and have a job that invigorates, challenges, and inspires you.

To really have it all, check out the top three most exciting companies in the biotech industry.



1. MedImmune
Gaithersburg-based MedImmune is a leader in personalized medicine—its list of “firsts" is impressively long, and includes the first (and only) intranasal flu vaccine and technology that led to the first HPV vaccine. But the company isn’t resting on its laurels. For proof that MedImmune is continually breaking new ground in biologics, just look at its press releases; new collaborations, medical achievements, and updates come out almost every day.

Plus, the company offers a post-doctoral program for young scientists to jump-start their biotech careers. Through this program, post-doctoral fellows have the opportunity to build their professional skills, gain industry experience and learn their craft from some of the top minds in the biopharmaceutical industry. Check out the new jobs.

MedImmune offers a number of amenities, activities, and resources to its employees. For example, its newly designed open workspace includes open living-room areas for informal gatherings and bean bag rooms for creative brainstorming, along with designated spaces for formal meetings and large group presentations with high-definition plasma screens and multiple monitors.

Pool, ping pong, and foosball tables, along with a Zen garden and arcade games, allow MedImmune employees to unwind and interact with each other between meetings or as they brainstorm. The company also holds ping pong tournaments and hosts science- and innovation-themed “happy hours” on Fridays so employees can network and let loose at the end of the week. MedImmune's on-site massage therapist also helps employees alleviate stress.

Employees have access to state-of-the-art fitness centers, onsite clinics, classes and seminars, coaching, and targeted lifestyle programs, as well as healthy workstation options (including treadmill desks) to help keep them moving and fit.

In addition to some of the perks, employees benefit from discounts on a range of services, from insurance and banking to car rentals, fitness brands, office supplies, and restaurants. Eco-conscious employees can take advantage of vehicle charging stations and bike racks on campus. And food trucks park on campus every week during the warmer seasons, providing a rotating choice of cuisine at lunch.



2. Hospira
Hospira is the world’s top provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies, and a global leader in biosimilars, which means its employees get the chance to work on cutting-edge products. Not only does working for Hospira mean amazing projects, it also means amazing tools: the corporation is investing more than $1 billion into making its current facilities bigger and more modern, building a new facility and developing new devices. In the company's Melbourne office, employees work in a welcoming environment with an abundance of plants, natural colors and hoop pine timber.

To nurture its culture of social and environmental responsibility, Hospira has been incorporating hybrids into its U.S. sales fleet for nearly a decade. At the close of 2013, 555 out of the 646 vehicles in its Commercial Operations fleet were hybrids.

Hospira is also constantly being recognized as an awesome place to work. For example, it was ranked as one of the top 50 companies in the U.S. for multi-cultural business opportunities, meaning it’s got an impressively diverse workforce. DiversityMBA Magazine also recognized Hospira’s diversity efforts. And the company’s organizational development vice president and chief talent officer, Pamela Puryear, was named a “rising star in HR” for the excellent HR programs she implemented at Hospira.

Hospira is headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill. and has approximately 19,000 employees and 16 manufacturing facilities across the globe.



3. Eli Lilly
According to FORTUNE, Eli Lilly is one of the top 55 best companies to work for in the U.S. It’s also one of the top 50 most admired companies—and number 13 in pharmaceuticals. Pretty exciting, right?

The company has five key business areas—bio-medicines, diabetes, animal health, innovative medicine and oncology—and it’s pioneering the technology in every one. If you’re an Eli Lilly employee, you’re guaranteed to be working on something that’s pushing the borders of what’s possible.

Lilly also has unbelievable benefits. Telecommuting options, free gym memberships, free camps, and day care for your kids, beautiful on-site parks, up to $10,000 in adoption aid, along with the more traditional dental, vision, insurance, medical, and vacation policies truly make this company not just an exciting place to work, but a relaxing and supportive one as well.

While Lilly's headquarters are in Indianapolis, the company's presence is felt throughout the state of Indiana. In 2013, Lilly gave more than $19.6 million to charitable organizations, and the average salary and benefits for its 11,000 statewide employees was $160,395.

Lilly's commitment to diversity is always being recognized. Its 2015 awards include:
* National Association for Female Executives "Top Companies for Executive Women"
* DiversityInc, "Top 50 Companies for Diversity"
* CivilianJobs.com, "Most Valuable Employer for Military"
* Diversity Woman magazine, "100 Best Companies for Women in the U.S."

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