Lithuania

Pharmadrome is a leading life science recruitment agency in Lithuania, serving the hiring needs of the bio/pharmaceutical and medical technology companies in Vilnius, Kaunas and the rest of the country since 2012.

Overview

We are the only recruitment agency operating in Lithuania that focuses solely on the Life Sciences sector. Our team has been recruiting in the Lithuanian market since 2007 and amassed a vast local market knowledge through close cooperation with the subsidiaries of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies.

We made our first placement in Lithuania back in 2013 and have been a leading Lithuanian life sciences recruitment market ever since. Lithuania currently amounts to roughly 35% of all our placements in the Baltic States, with the most significant demand for Vilnius-based commercial roles.

Half of our recruitment assignments in Lithuania are in pharmaceutical sales and marketing, followed by nearly a third in medical affairs and market access. The remaining searches include clinical operations, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and biomedical engineering.

Contacts
Customer Service

Get in touch with our recruitment team to discuss your career move or hiring needs in Lithuania. You can reach us by phone, email or the messaging app of your choice.

Phone number
+370 5 214 1000

Business hours
Monday – Friday
11:00 – 19:00 (EEST)

Offerings

Recruitment Solutions

We provide recruitment services tailored to pharmaceutical and medical technology companies seeking to address their industry-specific hiring needs in Lithuania.

Job Opportunities

We offer job opportunities for life science professionals in Lithuania who seek to develop and advance their careers in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

Country’s Profile

Life Sciences in Lithuania

Lithuania’s pharmaceutical industry is dominated by foreign multinationals, which are already consolidated in this market. The vast majority of them have established offices in Vilnius, with only a handful located in Kaunas. Lithuania may be one of the smallest pharmaceutical markets in the EU, but it is the largest one in the Baltic States with a turnover of €502 million (2015). Thus, a larger population makes the labour market more favourable, and it is not surprising that most international pharma companies have chosen Lithuania for their Baltic head office.

Based on our recent research, we estimate that Lithuania’s pharmaceutical market directly employs over 2,000 people. As of September 2019, official statistics gathered from the companies’ register show that the vast majority of them are employed by subsidiaries of international organisations. Just under 660 employees work for innovative pharmaceutical companies, approximately 560 work for generic pharma companies, another 100 for international licensed marketing companies and about 360 are employed at contract research organisations.

Lithuania’s biotechnology industry has been developing rapidly over the past few decades and is now regarded as one of the most sophisticated in Central and Eastern Europe. Back in 2016, Pharmadrome has attended Life Sciences Baltics conference, the largest of its kind in the Baltic countries, which highlighted the country’s potential not only in the region but also globally. Lithuania has several manufacturers specialised mainly in the production of pharmaceutical substances, components for molecular diagnostics and other sophisticated biotech products. The sector has been growing by 19% annually and exceeds sales of €500 million. Two major players in this market are Thermo Fisher Scientific and Biotechpharma, which together employ over 1,000 people.

Recruitment in Lithuania

Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, recruiting and staffing market in Lithuania is dominated by domestic employment agencies. In recent surveys by Staffing Industry Analysts, Lithuania even appeared among the five most attractive countries for temporary employment. It sounds good if you want to work or hire for, let’s say a shared services centre, as most reputable generalist recruitment agencies should be able to meet your expectations. But what options do you have if you want to speak to someone with a deep understanding of your industry (talent pool, career paths, salary levels, skill-sets required, etc.)?

We cannot speak for other sectors, but when it comes to Life Sciences, your choice is minimal. In Lithuania, Pharmadrome is competing with four other domestic recruitment firms. One of them is also specialised in the pharmaceutical industry and is established as the primary provider of staffing services for pharma companies in Lithuania. Some of our clients are using their insourcing service to overcome headcount approval challenges, so quite often we do the search and selection part, and they do the contracting.

Most of Pharmadrome’s searches in Lithuania are done for permanent placements, as contracting is not so common amongst pharma companies in the Baltics. There are a few exceptions in specific areas like clinical research, but otherwise part-time supporting functions (e.g. regulatory affairs, pharmacoeconomics, medical translations, etc.) are typically outsourced to consulting companies. So if you are looking to expand your team, we can offer our expert advice and a full range of permanent placement options ranging from contingency to retained search, as well as contract and temporary staffing services.

Employment in Lithuania

On 14 September 2016, Lithuanian Parliament adopted a new Labour Code, which liberalises labour relations between the employers and employees. Initially, it should have entered into force from 1 January 2017, but has been postponed by the new parliament for six months, so the new legislation took effect in July 2017.

The newly enforced labour code has shortened the fixed-term contracts to a maximum length of up to 2 years (previously five years) and has put a 20% threshold on the total number of fixed-term employment contracts allowed in a company. Also, the new labour code introduced several other employment types (e.g. apprenticeship, various forms of temporary engagement, etc.).

Previously, employers were obliged to give at least two months’ notice before terminating the contract and pay 1-6 months’ severance pay. Employees had to give at least 14 working days’ notice in advance. Under the mutual agreement, parties could have terminated the contract in 7 calendar days. In the new labour code, the employer’s notice period is reduced to 2 weeks within the first 12 months of employment and one month after that. For employees, it remains practically the same, 20 calendar days with their initiative or 5 working days mutually agreed. The probationary period also has been reduced to a maximum length of 3 months. A standard annual leave entitlement has switched from 28 calendar days to 20 working days.

Salaries in Lithuania

Learn about the average salaries at companies operating in Lithuania’s life sciences sector.