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Research that has been carried out via a collaboration between Canadian and German researchers has found that new drug combinations may be more effective at treating obesity and diabetes than single drugs. They may also be able to replace many of the more invasive options that are often suggested for these conditions, including bariatric surgery. The research has looked at drugs that control incretins, which are metabolic hormones used in the human body to produce and control insulin. As a result of the research, it has become clear that combining the drug not only means that it is likely to be more effective but also that there are fewer side effects for patients to contend with. Some of the patients taking part in the trial achieved up to a 15% weight loss - this is impressive given that in most trials weight loss of just 5% is considered to be meaningful. Further research is recommended to identify why some individuals respond better to the drug than others.

2022 has already been a positive year for pharma recruitment in Germany. The latest figures show a 9.5% rise in IT hiring activity in pharma between February and March this year and indicate that the industry as a whole continues to thrive. The numbers also show that IT hiring continues to take up a large percentage of overall hiring activity, accounting for 4.87% of total hiring activity in March of this year. Roles, such as software and web developers, database and network administrators and analysts, are all in high demand. There are some companies that continue to dominate when it comes to pharma recruitment activity - Bayer, for example, posted 36 IT jobs in March of this year and other companies, such as Merck and CompuGroup Medical SE & Co are also active. In fact, when it comes to IT hiring for the pharmaceutical industry, the top 5 account for more than 66% of activity and growth.

A recent report has identified that quality assurance engineer is now one of the top 5 in-demand jobs, alongside others such as product designer and software engineer. This comes as the market for quality assurance jobs - like many others - opens up in the wake of the pandemic to integrate much more remote work and hiring. Geographic limits have been lifted and organisations seeking to fill positions, such as quality assurance engineer, are now taking a much broader view of where staff need to be in terms of location. There are many advantages to opting for such a global perspective on hiring, including that it tends to distribute innovation faster and ensures that there are opportunities for those who don't come from markets such as the US or Europe. Thanks to the internet, labour markets are being created today without the restrictions of geography, which is positive news for both candidates and companies where quality assurance jobs are concerned.

Germany's Pharmaceutical industry sees a 9.5% rise in IT recruitment

Renowned clinical research organisation, Veristat, has acquired the Basel-headquartered Solutions for Life Sciences (SFL) in a move that will expand the company's quality assurance jobs in Europe. The acquisition is going to give Veristat, which is based in the US, a bridge into Europe, as SFL not only has its own Basel base but also affiliates in a range of other European locations, including Austria, Germany and the UK. Veristat will now be able to expand the reach of its core services into public affairs, market access and healthcare compliance, among other areas. SFL is a company that is already deeply embedded in Europe, which must have been a major attraction for Veristat. There are shared competencies between the two businesses, including in regulatory affairs and medical writing. Furthermore, SFL could act as a tool of entry into European markets, for example by being an Applicant for a Market Authorisation Application (MAA).

Bayer looks set to pump more resources into its German operations with the announcement of an investment of $1.53 billion. The cash is going to be used to grow manufacturing operations in Bergkamen, Berlin, Leverkusen, Weimar and Wuppertal and to create greater scope for innovation. One key target for Bayer is modernisation of facilities and being able to integrate more digital technologies, as well as investing in more innovative research methods. The company is also looking to establish strong links with up-and-coming innovators by collaborating with universities and start-ups that are disrupting in the life sciences field. The investment is designed to provide a boost to the company's presence in Germany but also invigorate its global competitiveness as an innovator. Sites in Dormagen, Frankfurt and Knapsack are also due to receive investment in 2026 as Bayer continues to drive its manufacturing capabilities to the most competitive level possible.

Digital therapies represent a huge growth area in German healthcare and have the potential to give many more patients access to a much broader selection of choice. Germany is one of the world's largest unified healthcare markets and now Pfizer and Alex Therapeutics have formed a collaboration in order to improve access. The collaboration will make clinically validated, evidenced-based therapies available to patients across Germany and provide a more personalised approach. Pfizer is renowned as being a cutting-edge pharmaceutical company and Alex Therapeutics is a digital therapeutics business based in Stockholm. Together, the two bring a range of skills and experience to the table, including in AI and software development as well as medicine and clinical validation. The collaboration will lean on Alex Therapeutics' AI powered digital therapeutics platform, which combines two key therapies (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) so that patients can receive treatments that are specifically tailored to their individual, unmet needs.

Quality assurance in the healthcare sector has always been vital. However, during the pandemic it became a particularly hot topic, especially in the context of patient safety. In Germany there are two systems that are key to implementing quality assurance: The Guideline of the German Medical Association (Rili-BÄK) and accreditation according to DIN EN ISO 15189. Creating uniform standards for quality assurance across the country has been at the heart of the role that these systems have to play. Over the past two years, with so much cross-border collaboration taking place, it also became crucial to ensure these standards were being maintained across borders, which is why quality assurance jobs have become indispensable in the German pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, and beyond. Ensuring patient safety through competent diagnostics is vital and it has been key to use these standards to establish trust in the medical facilities and the laboratories that support them.

Assuring quality has become an increasingly vital sector within the Life Sciences sector and European Commission have recognised this by establishing the European quality assurance scheme for breast cancer services to define a common set of both quality and safety requirements for breast cancer services in order to improve the quality of care offered to women.

December 2021 concluded another year in which those with pharma job skills were in high demand. Data from the jobs site of a leading provider of educational webinars showed that there is currently huge competition when it comes to attracting the best talent in the pharma industry. Thousands of job postings demonstrated that this is an industry where there is a lot of activity. Medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical spaces traditionally tend to have the biggest problems when it comes to attracting the best applicants, especially without the right support, such as that provided by specialist pharma recruiters.