Roche aims at top researchers in hiring plan

In the past few months, Roche has strengthened its complement of research scientists in Nutley by relocating more than 100 people from Palo Alto, Calif., and hiring about 50 others, said Brad Smith, director of human resources. The company will hire 30 more scientists by year’s end, and an additional 30 to 50 next year, he said.

The Nutley site has about 800 research scientists out of its total work force of between 2,600 and 2,700, said Smith, but according to previous corporate statements, about 400 manufacturing and sales jobs will be lost as the company moves these operations to California.

After the Genentech acquisition, Roche decided to make Nutley its global hub for research in inflammatory diseases — the key driver for the current hiring, Smith said. The company has 21 inflammation drugs in its pipeline; six are in Phase III and five in Phase II. It recently reported encouraging results for Actemra, a rheumatoid arthritis drug pending regulatory review; it would serve a market sized at more than $1 billion.

More recently, Roche decided to relocate its virology research operations from Palo Alto to Nutley, and the human resources implications of that are still being worked out, said spokeswoman Darien Wilson. Nutley already is a center for oncology, and hosts part of the research in metabolic diseases and RNAi, a form of cell research.

Roche has also refurbished and upgraded several existing buildings in Nutley into modern laboratory space where its new scientists will work, Smith said.

Bob Franks, president of the Bridgewater-based HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, said he is “extraordinarily heartened” by Roche’s hiring, describing the research jobs as the lifeblood of the biopharmaceutical industry. “These are particularly high-paying jobs, and they stimulate other spending by the company,” he added.

The addition of 200 to 230 highly skilled, high-paying scientist jobs to New Jersey comes against the backdrop of two other big-ticket pharmaceutical mergers being played out — Merck’s $41.1 billion buy of Schering-Plough and Pfizer’s $68 billion merge with Wyeth, said James Hughes, dean of Rutgers University’s Edward Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy.

“Each one is different,” Hughes said of the three major consolidations, explaining that he doesn’t expect the Roche hiring to launch a scientific talent chase across the state.

“We may be the only game in town in this specific therapeutic area” of inflammatory diseases research, Smith said. “[But] are we able to find people? The answer is no,” as there’s a shortage of scientific talent with the experience and background Roche requires. And recruitment is tricky because “people are less likely to move in this economy or look at opportunities if they have a good job,” he said.

The jobs offered range from an associate scientist, with a bachelor’s or master’s degree and three or more years of experience, to a research leader with advanced degrees and several years of experience, Smith said. The pay ranges from between $50,000 and $60,000 a year to $100,000 or more, he said.

But the supply of people with science, technology, engineering and math education in the United States is sufficient to meet industry needs, according to a study released last week by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, in New Brunswick.

“Despite decades of complaints that the United States does not have enough scientists and engineers, the data show our high schools and colleges are providing an ample supply of graduates,” said Hal Salzman, Rutgers professor of public policy and co-author of the study titled “Steady as She Goes? Three Generations of Students through the Science and Engineering Pipeline.”

“It is now up to science and technology firms to attract the best and the brightest graduates to come work for them,” Salzman said.

­E-mail to shankar_p@njbiz.com