I've been getting a couple of offers of consulting positions all with firms with a focus on the pharma/biotech sector. I've got a science PhD and have worked for a large pharma company for a few years both as a researcher and more recently a business analyst. Anyone got any insights who the major players are in this area? I've been interviewing with LEK, WoodMacKenzie, Datamonitor, and IMS Health. I know McKinsey, Accenture and BCG all do pharma work but I'm looking for consultants who deal with the biotechs, small start ups and the VC community.Opinions gratefully appreciated!

Try PA: they do loads of JVs such as Aegate (RFID), or Meridica

In the UK, the biotech sector has little cash. London has Wood Mac and IMS Health - 99% focus on Pharma. Cambridge has Cambridge Consultants and Arthur D Little which are doing biotech work - CC because they are about 60% cheaper than top tier consultancies - both based on the science park off Milton Rd. PRTM are based in Oxford and do some LS work but I don't know much about them. All are recruiting. Best bet for getting into biotech is move to Oxford / Cambridge - London's probably out... Accenture does no biotech work anymore and the Pharma practice is about IT implementation - all the senior business consultants left 12 to 24 months ago. Ernst and Young have a pretty good reputation for biotech - their operation is based in Cambridge where they produce an excellent annual biotech survey. Hope that helps.

lek does a lot of work with smaller biotech firms on uk and european product launches as well as m&a, often in conjunction with their us offices

Thanks, my preference is for LEK. I think that they've got a good rep with the biotech sector primarily in the US, but growing in Europe. It would be an interesting challenge to be part of that. Also they seem to be well known with the VCs which is a possible career path I'm looking at in the US after 3-4 years in consulting. Any thoughts?