BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Pictured: Office building science collage/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace According to the BioSpace 2024 employment outlook report, 72% of respondents in the life sciences industry—including those who are currently employed—plan to look for a new job this year. However, the number of job postings that are live at BioSpace has declined year over year. There are 32% fewer positions live in March 2024 than in March 2023. BioSpace Jobs Live, March 2023–March 2024 That said, there are plenty of employers hiring. If you’re looking for a new position, here are the top 11 biopharma companies hiring now. Moderna Takeda AbbVie Eli Lilly and Company Regeneron Gilead Sciences Daiichi Sankyo Sage Therapeutics Amgen CSL Behring BioMarin In addition to the companies above, check out these hot companies that are also hiring: Insmed, Mirador and Sonothera. Angela Gabriel is content manager, life sciences careers, at BioSpace. You can reach her at angela.gabriel@biospace.com and follow her on LinkedIn.  Want more job market insights? Subscribe to Career Insider to receive our quarterly life sciences job market reports, career advice and more.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can quadruple your risk for developing dementia and increase your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS. In a new study scientists use lab-grown human brain structures known as organoids to offer insights into why this is the case and how to mitigate the risk. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can quadruple your risk for developing dementia and increase your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS. In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, USC scientists use lab-grown human brain structures known as organoids to offer insights into why this is the case and how to mitigate the risk. In the study, former postdoc Jesse Lai and PhD student Joshua Berlind from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Justin Ichida used human patient-derived stem cells to grow rudimentary brain structures known as organoids in the lab. They then injured these organoids with high-intensity ultrasound waves. The injured organoids showed some of the same features seen in TBI patients, including nerve cell death and pathological changes in tau proteins, as well as in a protein called TDP-43. The scientists found that the pathological changes in TDP-43 were more prevalent in organoids derived from patients with ALS or frontotemporal dementia, making their nerve cells more suspectable to dysfunction and death following injury. This suggests that TBI might increase the risk of developing these diseases even more for patients with a genetic predisposition. The worst injuries were sustained by nerve cells that share information -- called excitatory neurons -- located in the deep layers of the organoids. In their search for ways to protect these neurons against the effects of TBI, the scientists identified a gene called KCNJ2, which contains instructions for making channels that selectively allow potassium to pass through the cell membrane, helping to enable muscle contraction and relaxation. Inhibiting this gene had a protective effect on organoids derived from patients with and without ALS, as well as on mice, following a TBI. "Targeting KCNJ2 may reduce the death of nerve cells after TBI," said Ichida, who is the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation Associate Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC, and a principal investigator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. "This could have potential as either a post-injury treatment or as a prophylactic for athletes and others at high risk for TBI." About the authors and the study Co-corresponding author Ichida is also a co-founder of AcuraStem and Modulo Bio, a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) member at Spinogenix and Vesalius Therapeutics, and an employee in the Research and Early Development group at BioMarin Pharmaceutical. Co-corresponding author Lai and co-author Violeta Yu were both employees of Amgen during the study, and currently work at Dewpoint Therapeutics. Named companies were not involved in this research project. First author Berlind is a PhD student in the Ichida Lab. Additional co-authors are Gabriella Fricklas, Cecilia Lie, Jean-Paul Urenda, Kelsey Lam, Naomi Sta Maria, Russell Jacobs, and Zhen Zhao from USC. Fifty percent of the work was supported by federal funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute on Aging (grant F31NS117075), NINDS (grant R01 1R01NS097850-01), and the Department of Defense (grant 12907280). The project was also privately funded by an Amgen postdoctoral fellowship, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Tau Consortium, the Harrington Discovery Institute, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia, and the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation.

The year started well for the biotechnology industry. Steady dealmaking coupled with a rebound in initial public offerings helped lift investor confidence and, with it, drugmaker stocks.While that optimism has moderated somewhat since, a series of decisions by the Food and Drug Administration over the next three months could help the sector sustain its upturn. The agency may expand approvals for two cancer cell therapies and clear a third vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus. Sanofi and Regeneron await a decision on a lucrative new use for their top-selling Dupixent, while Geron could see decades of drug research finally pay off.Here are five FDA decisions to watch in the second quarter.CAR-T therapies for early multiple myeloma treatmentThe FDA this quarter could broaden the use of two cell therapies for multiple myeloma in decisions potentially worth billions of dollars to their respective developers.By April 5, the agency will decide whether to clear Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotechs Carvykti for use in myeloma patients as early as after one relapse. That decision could be accompanied by a similar OK for Bristol Myers Squibbs Abecma and open up use of the therapies, which are currently only available in the U.S. for people with more advanced disease.European regulators have already endorsed earlier use of Abecma and Carvykti based on trial data showing they help people live longer without their disease progressing. But the FDA has appeared less supportive. The agency delayed a decision on Abecma last year and held a March advisory meeting to more closely scrutinize the data for it and Carvykti. In briefing documents, staff scientists flagged an apparent increase in the risk of death early on in the clinical trials of both therapies.The companies attributed that finding to limitations in the bridging therapies study participants could receive while waiting for CAR-T treatment. Panelists were convinced and backed both, agreeing that those issues likely wouldnt occur as frequently in practice.Nonetheless, the regulatory scrutiny suggests that the FDA might put new safety restrictions on Carvykti and Abecma if it chooses to clear them for earlier use. Jonathan GardnerModernas vaccine for RSVCOVID-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna have been facing the downside of their pandemic success, as falling sales have brought tough questions from investors.Moderna, for its part, aims to follow its COVID shot with several other messenger RNA-based vaccines, including one for respiratory syncytial virus thats now under FDA review.Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, can cause severe illnessin infants, older adults and people with compromised immune systems. Two vaccines, from GSK and Pfizer, are already approved to prevent RSV-related disease in adults over the age of 60. Sales of each have been strong, although GSK has established a clear edge.Moderna argues its vaccine, dubbed mRNA-1345, can compete. The shot is a pre-filled, single-dose vaccine, potentially offering more convenient administration.In Phase 3 testing, the vaccine was 84% effective at preventing infection with two or more symptoms in older adults. That efficacy does appear to wane over time, however.At a recent meeting, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisers reviewed known safety risks for GSKs and Pfizers shots, both of which were associated in very rare cases with Guillain-Barr syndrome, or GBS, a neurological condition affecting the nerves. Moderna has not reported any cases of GBS in Phase 3 testing of its shot.An FDA decision on mRNA-1345 is set for May 12. Delilah AlvaradoGerons imetelstat for myelodysplastic syndromesDrug development is a time-consuming, expensive process. Geron, a biotech founded 34 years ago to pursue stem cell research, knows this well.The companys long journey may finally reach an end by June 16, when the FDA will decide whether to approve a bone marrow disease drug Geron has been developing for nearly two decades. Called imetelstat, the drug treats myelodysplastic syndromes and some analysts believe it has blockbuster potential.Over the many years of Gerons research, imetelstat failed studies in multiple cancer types, and the company lost Johnson & Johnson as a partner along the way. But the drug finally succeeded in Phase 3 testing for myelodysplastic syndromes last year. And in March, it secured the endorsement of an FDA advisory panel despite skepticism from agency reviewers.Geron aims to challenge Bristol Myers Squibbs Reblozyl, first with a clearance in people with lower-risk disease and then in more people who have the condition. Stifel analyst Stephen Wiley estimated the drug could generate $2 billion in peak yearly sales, as it could be helpful in people who dont respond well to Reblozyl.Geron could be a buyout target, too, according to Wiley, though the company has said it plans to sell the drug on its own. Ben FidlerSanofi and Regenerons Dupixent for COPDDupixent is one of the pharmaceutical industrys most widely used and lucrative products. Approved for asthma, eczema and three other inflammatory conditions, the drug earned the companies more than $11 billion in sales last year.By June 27, the FDA could add another major indication to Dupixents list of approved uses. The regulator is currently reviewing the injectable medicine as a treatment for a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.If cleared by the FDA, Dupixent would be the first biologic drug for people with moderate-to-severe COPD who also have evidence of whats called Type 2 inflammation. A pair of late-stage studies, which enrolled nearly 1,900 people, showed Dupixent could cut the rate of COPD attacks by about one-third. Analysts therefore expect the FDA to issue an approval and forecast billions of dollars in additional yearly sales. Ned PagliaruloPfizers gene therapy for hemophilia BSome time during the second quarter, the FDA will decide whether to clear a gene therapy from Pfizer for hemophilia B, the less common form of the blood clotting disorder.Reaching this point has been a long time coming for Pfizer, which licensed the therapy from Spark Therapeutics a decade ago. In subsequent testing, treatmentlowered bleeding rates and reduced the need for regular blood transfusions powerful benefits meant to last many years with a single infusion.But its unclear whether Pfizer will find a market if the FDA chooses to approve its therapy. A rival genetic medicine, from CSL Behring and UniQure, won U.S. approval for hemophilia B in November 2022. However, few patients have been treated to date, sluggish uptake that could reflect the breadth of effective options available.The story is similar with Roctavian, a gene therapy BioMarin Pharmaceutical sells for the more common A form of hemophilia. Only three patients received Roctavian last year: two in Germany and one in the U.S.Pfizers therapy, which in January won Canadian approval, could provide another data point. But the company seems to be downplaying its potential. In recent presentations for investors, a once-weekly shot called marstacimab has gotten higher billing. Ned Pagliarulo '