“The glory of medicine is that it is constantly moving forward, that there is always more to learn. The ills of today do not cloud the horizon of tomorrow, but act as a spur to greater effort.”

— William James Mayo

The pharmaceutical industry in India is marching towards becoming a global hub for medicines and pharmaceutical equipment. It has also made rapid strides in vaccine development, and the industry is witnessing work on a mission-mode basis to set up pharma manufacturing parks across India to expand the country’s pharmaceutical influence worldwide.

According to the Decoding Jobs India Report 2023, the Indian pharmaceutical industry market is set to grow from $49 billion to $130 billion by 2030. To broaden their growth prospects and be future-ready in today’s tech-driven environment, companies are keen to hire digitally-skilled talent to fuel their next growth phase.

According to Mr. K Kulbhushan, Global Head and Vice President at Dr. Reddy’s, “As the pharmaceutical industry continues to advance in 2023, we will see a growing demand for professionals with skills in chemical engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, as well as project management.”

At present, there are a total of 2.5 million people employed in this sector. The pharmaceutical sector is creating a surge in demand for new roles and opening up several job opportunities. The industry is optimistic about growth, and according to the Decoding Jobs India Report, the expected hiring intention of pharmaceutical employers in 2023 is 16% more than it was in 2022.

The industry has scope for multiple roles– be it in cybersecurity to maintain the secrecy of medicinal formulations, blockchain to build resilient delivery models, or robotics and AI to make smarter assembly lines, there’s ample scope and opportunity for professionals from diverse digital skills backgrounds.

Let’s take a look at some of the high-demand jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. 

• Tech-based Roles

 Pharmaceutical executives are looking to reduce their product development costs and time. To achieve this, companies require talent skilled in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and static/dynamic simulation software. As per a study by Pharmaceutical Technology, 70% of drug development is already done by leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

• Quality Assurance & Manufacturing Roles

Quality assurance is one of the core domains of the pharmaceutical industry and is responsible for developing and implementing quality standards for manufacturing drugs and medical equipment. There are several new job opportunities in this department for candidates from BPM (Business Process Management) and  Lean Six Sigma backgrounds who can develop efficient error prevention techniques, streamline inventory management, and improve the material flow.

• Project Management Roles

Project management is another key area of focus for companies, with a focus on ensuring effective collaboration among the teams. This has led to an increase in demand for professionals with knowledge in implementing the agile working methodology.

• R&D Roles

Research and development (R&D) is at the heart of every pharmaceutical company; hence, the need for research-oriented professionals is always high. The Indian Government is also playing a crucial role in promoting R&D by allocating USD 419.2 million towards research and development initiatives taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

This has led to job opportunities for scientific technicians who specialize in genomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, drug discovery, toxicology, and several other fields.

• Sales & Marketing Roles

Lastly, if we look at the non-technical side, companies are also looking for experienced sales and marketing professionals to gain a competitive advantage and build a strong relationship with their customers. This opens up doors for job seekers proficient in digital marketing, branding, social media management, and marketing strategy planning in this sector.

Mrs. Namrata Gill, HR Lead at Dr. Reddy’s, says that “The pharmaceutical sales market will require professionals who possess a strong understanding of marketing and product management to excel, as has also been stated in the Decoding Jobs India Report 2023.”

The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a digital shift, and there are several job opportunities available for professionals willing to upskill and reskill.

Besides technical skills, companies actively look for candidates with two main traits– strategic thinking and strong problem-solving. So, develop your skill set in these areas. Put in efforts to network with industry professionals and be active on social media to connect with the right people, and clinch the job opportunity of your choice.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with an inspirational quote from Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

Pankaj Bansal is the Co- founder of Taggd and Work Universe (a Fund investing in jobs and work tech). He is a non-executive director at Karmayogi Bharat (Capacity building or Civil Servants) and many other startups. Follow him on Twitter at @pankajbansalPB.