Big names in the pharmaceutical industry, after tapping the B schools for frontline managers, are now hunting for R&D professionals at premier institutes in the country. This is in line with the increasing R&D activities that are being undertaken by the company. According to one estimates, companies like Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy's have been head hunting at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore apart from the Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The two companies have also been tapping some of the other well known research institutes. Similar is the case with other big names in the industry. Good pay packages are being doled out to lure them.

Industry sources claim that the increased R&D activities that these big names anticipate in the coming years have prompted them to get good hands from these well known research institutes. Though no figures of recruitment have been doled out, guestimmates have it that these companies put together might be picking up atleast 200 to 250 professionals from the research institutes on an annual basis for the last two years. Industry sources claim that the figure could be higher. Also gone high are the pay packages.

Campus recruitments have become the order of the day for these companies. Industry sources claim that the companies line up for recruitment much before the students pass out from the institutes. This , the sources claim, is to ensure that competitor companies do not poach on them. Sources at the research institutes claim that students from the pharmaceutical and microbiology branches are most preferred but oflate students from organic chemistry departments have also been approached. While students with Ph.D are housed off ,these companies are also looking at students with M.Sc degree such that they could be 'modelled' at their laboratories.

Head hunting at the campus has also resulted in the companies poaching on R&D professionals of other companies thereby creating a bad flavour. It is alleged by industry sources, that once the companies find it difficult to get good hands from the premier and other research institutes they begin poaching on professionals. The result is that professionals who worked for one company are seen at the competitor months later.
"Money has been the main factor for the professionals to switch over. For the companies it is the secret that come along with professionals. But all this has created distaste in the industry though no company is ready to speak about it," claims a veteran R&D professional of a leading pharmaceutical company based in Chennai.