Many biopharmaceutical companies plan to hire scientists in the next three years, according to a report published on 4 February by the PwC Health Research Institute in Washington DC, part of London-based professional-services firm PwC. New Chemistry: Getting the Biopharmaceutical Talent Formula Right, which is based on surveys of company executives and recruiters, finds that 72% of drug-makers plan to boost their research capacity in the next 12 months by hiring scientists, creating partnerships or improving infrastructure. The results of the survey suggest that jobs will grow by about 30% among US medical scientists, biochemists and biophysicists by 2020. Responding companies want recruits who can develop and manage external partnerships, and who know about regulatory science, bioinformatics and outcomes research. Early-career scientists looking for opportunities need to “think about the entire value chain that leads to the development of a drug or medical device”, says Christopher Khoury, a senior manager at the Health Research Institute and lead author of the report.