Biotech Recruiting in Canada; Possibly looking to expand to USA??

What a strange year for Cortex Search Inc.

From December 2006-April 2007 it seemed like a serious rut had bubbled up. But the term "feast or famine" couldn't be more true for the "FormerScienceGuy". Since April 1st, 10 (ten) deals have closed, a close to record first quarter, and a sweet second quarter is brewing.

I implemented a $5000 engagement fee and this has been met with little hesitation from new clients. This engagement fee puts a bit more onus on the client to be responsive, engaging, and committed to work diligently on the process. I thought $10K was stepping more into the "retained" model, a business practise I'm not interested in.

This year has seen me acquire three new clients, two referral based, and one gained from attending a conference "biofinance", here in Toronto.

Now that I see some stability and a bit more of a confident market, coupled with a strong track record here in Canada, I am contemplating expanding my model, expertise and network throughout the US.

I am torn between setting up a number of formal networks in the US, or actually bringing on regional consultants to be part of Cortex Search.

Things I bring to the table:

1. PhD in Genetics
2. Running Cortex for 9 years
3. Applicant Tracking System
4. Record of Success in recruiting junior to C-level candidates

Things I am looking for in a network or new consultant:

1. Experience recruiting in the biotech/pharma industry for at least two years
2. Understanding of how to deal with scientists and executives
3. Independent work philosophy
4. Strong communicator
5. Ability to manage both candidate and client
6. An advanced degree in life sciences

Touch base with me

Spring Time, Biotech in Canada, Ovarian Cancer

Over the past two months, I've been away from writing on the blog. Really, no excuse, just lazyiness, but also really focused on Cortex business development, closing some deals, etc.

Funny thing, as the first quarter of this year was slow, and now it's spring time, golf season is staring me in the face. I'm looking forward to that. From a business side of things, this past quarter has been interesting, none the less. There's been lots of entry level stuff to do, to start working with some new clients and build some position for bigger and better positions. Being back on track is a good feeling.

I recently attended two events in Canada. One was a dinner for the British Columbia Life Sciences industry (www.lifesciencesbc.com) the other was called Biofinance (www.biofinance.ca). Both these were fantastic networking opportunities, and excellent to get caught up on some of the great work being done by early stage companies across this country of mine, Canada. I encourage you to visit both these sites to learn more about the industry up here. Some of these companies are focused on diagnostics, some on therapeutics, some on clinical research.

From a personal side of things, today, I'm going to mention three companies, located in the USA to look at: Sunesis (www.sunesis.com); United Therapeutics (www.unitedtherapeutics.com); and Alza (www.alza.com). These three companies all have therapeutic programs to treat late stage Ovarian Cancer. Why is this so personal to me? A close and personal friend of mine, Elana, is currently battling ovarian cancer. And when I say battling, I mean fighting tooth and nail, from a life perspective, as well as an awareness perspective.

In this light, if anyone in the biotech or pharmaceutical industries needs a personal perspective, or an insight into the importance behind the research and basic or clinical development of therapeutics to diagnose or treat ovarian cancer, I encourage you to watch the video of a speech Elana gave at a lunch by the Israel Cancer Research Fund (http://www.icrfonline.org) where she was recently honoured.

Please click here to watch the video.

And please leave your comments on my blog after, so I can pass them on to my amazing friend. And if you're in the biotech and or pharmacuetical industry, also feel free to leave a message indicating your point of view.

I'll write soon.

FINALLY BACK UP

Getting this blog back up has been a real pain in the you know what.
Sorry about the delay.

Okay. It seems as though this formerscienceguy is busy as stink again. Clients in the following geographical areas are hiring like crazy:

Sherbrooke, Quebec
Vancouver, BC
San Francisco, California
Toronto, Ontario
Montreal Quebec

The diverse areas ain't so diverse, but a trend is quite apparent. Toxicology, pharmacology, bioinformatics, clinical research, quality assurance, all at a nice "headhunter" level, meaning jobs paying 100K or more.
The bizarre thing is that in the past month four new jobs, exactly the same, have come in, all for formulation development, for someone that understands CMC regulatory filing. I don't think I've seen that happen before. It's nice, as there are a few candidates to spread around.

I have not had a good chance to update my active jobs part of my www.cortexhr.com website, but I'll try tonight or tomorrow.

It was a strange year, from a billing point of view for me, I had two quarters where I billed quite a bit, and two quaters with zippo (that's canadian for nothing).

I am always open to doing split fees, so if you're a headhunter in the biotech industry, get in touch with me and we'll set-up a relationship.

I am also going to see if I can set-up a forum, and see what kind of response I get out there. I'll post tomorrow what the address is, and have a link to it as well.

TT

Again the Canadian Biotech Industry Shines

Well it seems as though the Canadian Biotech Industry is full steam ahead...

Cytochroma just raised $21MM, and you can see the story here. Cytochroma is a biotech company in Toronto, that, like many others around the globe, have seen it's ups and downs.

Even more intriguing is a company in Ottawa, Variation Biotechnologies, that raised over $35MM USD. You can see the story here.

It seems the niche I picked when I started Cortex after my science life is still humming along in the biotech industry, well, at least the smallish companies. My bread and butter has come from companies less than 150 people. I generate quite a bit of money in split fees, and still quite a bit more from single fee placements.

I'll elaborate on other companies in the weeks to come.

TTL

Okay - Im back, but away again

It's been a long month with severe computer ups and downs, mostly downs.
Im back to blogging, however, I'm away from civilization starting saturday for one week, but I will be more diligent upon my return.

The recruiting world has picked up for me quite a bit in the past few weeks, and I thought I would list the jobs I am more than willing to do split fees on here, and see who comes a knocking:

Microarray Product Development Scientist
Director Bioinformatics
Director Microarray Product Development
Director Analytical Chemistry
Director Pharmacology

Or, if you're in the field of bioinformatics/microarray analysis with nucleic acid experience, get in touch with me at michael@cortexhr.com

So, as you can see, I've been busy drumming up business again. Sure, the microarray company is in Toronto, but heck, it is the 5th largest city in North America, all we're missing is an NFL team, and to be honest, not many of these types are huge NFL fans anyway.

Surf over to www.toronto.com to see what moves and shakes here in Toronto.

I'm also starting to use linkedin more and more, so be sure to invite me to your network as well!