Job Cuts from Major Pharmaceutical Firms Results in Tougher Competition, Says Advance Recruitment

MANCHESTER, England, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Some of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms announced this month they would be cutting thousands of medical sales jobs in order to slash costs and keep investors happy, exposing the worrying dilemma facing the industry.

Biopharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca were the first to announce further job cuts with another 7,300 positions to be axed in 2012. The company has already seen an extraordinary amount of job cuts over recent years with some 12,600 posts removed between 2007-2009 and a further 9,000 last year.

The company blames a mixture of a rise in generic drug firms, pricing pressure and falling returns on drug discovery as the main causes for the increase in job losses in recent years.

The UK currently prescribes some of the cheapest medicines and drugs in Europe according to the Department of Health and the Government has planned to switch to a system of 'value-based pricing' in a bid to promote innovation within the industry.

Another major firm to announce a series of job cuts worldwide was medical devices group Smith & Nephew.

In an effort to save £94.9million, the company said it would have to lose 7% (800 jobs) of its workforce over the course of three years after profits fell 5.3% to £536million in 2011.

However medical sales and marketing recruitment specialists, Advance Recruitment, remain optimistic with regards to new job opportunities within the sector and instead believe the news regarding job cuts has simply caused the competition for new places to increase.

Nick Langley, Managing Director at Advance Recruitment stated, "The announcement of job cuts from a series of major pharmaceutical and medical device firms does not mean the industry is closed to job seekers, but instead is likely to cause the competition for each available placement to rise.

"The medical sales industry remains particularly popular for graduates and job seekers, and medical sales firms will be looking for those who can offer an extensive knowledge in medicine as well as the natural ability to persuade and sell."

Many major firms within the sector also share the same optimism, with GlaxoSmithKline insisting it is in a strong position to reverse falling sales after revealing as many as thirty new drugs likely to be released within the next three years.

The company also stated sales and profit margins will return to growth in 2012 as its efforts to invest heavily in new drugs begin to pay off. As a result the firm are yet to announce any job losses unlike its competitors. Advance Recruitment  specialises in recruiting for healthcare sales,  medical device sales  and marketing jobs for leading healthcare and pharmaceutical companies across the UK. For more information about their current selection of medical sales positions speak to an advisor on 0800-783-0920  or visit  http://www.advancerecruitment.net/.