Life Sciences Scoop | April 2025
Warman O'Brien
Global Life Sciences Recruitment Partner across the USA, UK, Europe and APAC
Welcome to the April edition of our Life Sciences Scoop!
This month, we have prepared a really cool and thought-provoking collection of content that will appeal to everyone interested in the Life Sciences industry. Whether you're hiring talent, looking for your next role, or simply passionate about staying updated on the latest developments.
In this newsletter, you'll find:
Let's dive in!
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Jobs of the Month
Engineering | Contract
Business Development
Statistical Programming
UK & Europe
Biostatistics
UK & Europe
Commercial
US & Canada
Medical
Europe
US & Canada
What to Read
Fraudulent activities in Life Sciences recruitment
85% of Life Sciences and healthcare organisations reported discovering lies on job applications and resumes, with approximately 40% of these cases involving false education or credentialing.
Common types of fraudulent activities in Life Sciences recruitment:
• Interview impersonation
Candidates may have someone else answer interview questions on their behalf, either off-camera or through sophisticated lip-syncing techniques. This deception can be particularly challenging to detect in remote interview settings.
• Bait-and-switch
Some fraudsters successfully complete the interview process, only to have a different person show up to start the job. This alarming trend has been observed by several UK clients in the past year, highlighting the need for continued verification even after the hiring decision.
• Remote work outsourcing
Hired candidates may outsource their work to less qualified individuals, compromising the quality and security of projects. This practice is especially prevalent in roles that involve extensive remote work.
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• Salary manipulation
Applicants may lie about their current salaries or fabricate competing job offers to inflate their salary negotiations. This dishonesty can lead to inequitable compensation structures within organisations.
• Qualification fraud
Candidates might present false academic or professional qualifications to appear more competitive. In the highly specialised life sciences field, this fraud can have serious consequences for research integrity and patient safety.
❓ How can you identify genuine Life Sciences candidates during the hiring process?
❓ How can you enhance your business's screening processes to prevent a flood of fraudulent candidates in the pipeline?
Find the answers in 🔗 our recent article. 🔗
For those who prefer a podcast format, click here for the audio version. 🎧
Critical Issues in the Underrepresentation of Women in Clinical Trials and Their Consequences
Despite women making up nearly half of the global population, medical research has historically treated women's bodies as atypical, with men's bodies considered the norm.
🔍 Did you know that Alzheimer's disease affects twice as many women as men, but clinical trials include eight times more male participants?
🔍 Also, women are 50% more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis after a heart attack and experience adverse effects from medications at twice the rate of men.
Read more about the funding disparities and the latest advancements in women's health research in 🔗 our new blog post. 🔗
Leading Statistical Programming Languages in Biometrics
For hiring managers, understanding which programming languages are essential in biometrics is key to attracting the right statistical programmers and biostatisticians. While SAS has long been the dominant language for regulatory submissions, R, Python, and automation-driven approaches are shifting hiring priorities.
Biometrics teams must be structured to support regulatory reporting, advanced statistical modeling, and automation. The strongest teams include programmers who can work across multiple programming environments rather than relying on a single language.
SAS and R: Balancing Compliance and Statistical Flexibility
Many companies prefer statistical programmers and biostatisticians who are proficient in both SAS and R. This allows them to manage regulatory submissions while also supporting more flexible statistical analysis.
R and Python: The Expanding Role of AI and Real-World Data
The growing use of machine learning and real-world data in clinical trials has increased demand for programmers with experience in R and Python. This combination is particularly valuable in:
SAS and Python: The Shift Toward Automated Regulatory Reporting
Regulatory reporting is becoming more automated as companies look for ways to improve efficiency. Many organisations now prioritise SAS programmers with Python expertise to:
Grants and Funds Impacting Biometrics and Data Management in 2025
As biometric data protection remains a focal point, regulations like HIPAA will influence which projects attract funding. Efforts that prioritise secure handling of patient data in clinical trials and other sensitive settings are likely more appealing to funders, especially as data protection becomes a higher priority in both the public and private sectors.
As Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health, stated “My hope is to integrate basic research with public health and clinical care data, and, crucially, more rapidly disseminate evidence to guide patient and provider decisions, tracking progress for outcomes that matter to the people we serve.”
Agencies like the NIH and ONC are focusing on research and development in areas like AI-powered diagnostics, digital biomarkers, and better integration of biometric data into clinical trials and patient monitoring systems. The goal is to make healthcare more personalised, efficient, and secure.
Key funding areas to watch in 2025 include:
Who are Warman O'Brien?
Warman O'Brien is a Niche Life Sciences Recruitment partner. We're proud to say that we have a 90% success rate of CV-to-interview matches, and our partnerships with pioneering Biotech, Pharma, and CROs across the USA, Canada, UK, and Europe.
We recruit top talent across multiple functional areas, including Digital Health, Biometrics, Data Science, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Research, Discovery Sciences, and Medical.