Good morning! From July 28 until July 29, there have been 24 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of those, 4 positions are academically connected (17%) and 1 position is from Kelly Scientific Resources.
Pfositions at Pfearl River: Pfizer is hiring 4 M.S./Ph.D chemists at the old Wyeth site for "scientists with experience in synthetic/semi-synthetic organic/medicinal chemistry of glycoconjugates, carbohydrates, peptides, protein modification, bioconjugation to work in the area of conjugate vaccine research and early phase development."
Paper!: Sappi Fine Paper is searching for a M.S./Ph.D. research scientist to perform research on coated papers in Westbrook, Maine. Education in "organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, or material science" is desired.
Water!: The Las Vegas Valley Water District is hiring a Ph.D. chemist to head research "related to the quality of water treated and distributed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority/Southern Nevada Water System." Good luck with that; the Colorado River isn't exactly getting higher.
Ink!: E Ink is looking for a Ph.D. synthetic chemist (0-8 years experience) for work on new organic materials for electronic paper displays.
So as I was sayin', part N.: IMRA America in Ann Arbor, MI is looking for a M.S. materials chemist to work on a lithium ion battery.
Did not Pfizer just lay-off every medchemist-synthetic chemist at Pearl River? Guess they were not good enough for these positions. You know, not Pfizer quality material. Or perhaps they were too old, too highly paid or just not qualified for these narrowly defined positions.
ReplyDeleteAnon10:13a: Yeah, if so, it's pretty much par for the course, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the merger of Wyeth and Pfizer, the resultant company decided to retain the perceived strengths of each progenitor while scuttling redundancies. Wyeth's biopharma division was percieved is superior to Pfizer's, while the consensus was opposite with regards to traditional organic (medicinal and process) chemistry. The same pattern can be seen in the Merck/Schering-Plough case study: MRL > SP-Union; SP-vaccines > Merck's; Merck Boston > SP-Cambridge. Of course, this crude analysis doesn't provide consolation to the real people who've lost jobs at both companies. Also, I'm tired of hearing presumptions that all who've been laid off from Big Pharma are somehow incompetent or lackluster. A lot of dirty politics is involved. For example, look at SP-Merck's vytorin/zetia. The chemists and biologists who worked on that project fulfilled their duties with regards to discovering, developing, and manufacturing the API. None of them could have predicted the debacle of the ENHANCE trial. Anyway, good luck to all the unemployed chemists out there! Keep hope alive!
ReplyDelete"Also, I'm tired of hearing presumptions that all who've been laid off from Big Pharma are somehow incompetent or lackluster."
ReplyDeleteAnon2:58p: I sincerely hope you haven't been hearing this from me, because I don't think I've said it and it's not true. By now, they're just swinging the axe more-or-less at random.
Anon2:58p: I've also heard these presumptions (not on this site though). It seems that most times those who spew wild assumptions or comments about those laid-off from Big Pharma are showing their lack of life experience or insecurity about their own skills. Truth is many talented chemists have gotten or will be laid off for no other reason of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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