《科学》杂志自2002年开始每年都要进行生物科技领域“最佳雇主”网上调查，主要测评对象是生物技术、生物制药、传统制药以及相关行业的公司。
近期《科学》公布了2011年的生命科学行业最佳雇主，此次网上调查的受访者主要包括“美国科学促进会”会员、该促进会网站的“科学职业”子网站的注册会员以及《科学》杂志网站的注册者等，受访者需要针对23项特征标准对目前行业内雇主进行评价，这些标准包括财政实力，对变化的适应性，以及科研环境。
今年来自美国麻省的Vertex生物技术制药公司从去年的第三名攀升至榜首，这是这家公司第一次夺得最受尊敬的生物制药雇主桂冠，排在其后的分别是纽约的Regeneron制药公司，以及加州Genentech公司——Genentech公司曾在过去的10年评选中获得过8次最佳雇主的称号。
Vertex公司是一家专注于研究口服小分子药剂新的开发方法、使用基于结构的合理药剂进行设计的先驱性的医药品研究开发企业，主要设计开发防止HIV感染、AIDS自免疫系统缺失、癌症、血红蛋白障碍、炎症等新药。近年来这家公司的一些新药频受关注，比如今年，其囊性纤维化治疗药物VX- 770的临床三期研究被分析师认为取得了历史性的突破：这种药物起效明显，在一秒钟内就能引发肺功能改善——即FEV1用力呼气量——在48周与安慰剂的对比试验中，所有关键的次要终点在参与VX- 770试验组的成员都得到改进。除此之外，其最新的治疗丙型肝炎的药物（telaprevir）也通过FDA的审批。
今年雇主调查共访问了3784人，包括来自北美（80%）、欧洲（12%）以及环太平洋圈（6%）的参与者。最终调查结果由一家独立调研公司进行分析，公布于9月16日的《科学》杂志上，以及10月7日的纸媒上。
除此之外，5月份《科学家》（The Scientist）杂志也公布了一项企业最佳工作场所调查结果，结果显示，排名第一的小型公司是Epizyme公司，这家公司近年来倍受关注，Epizyme公司位于马萨诸塞州，主要生产针对攻克错误蛋白（errant proteins）的抗癌药物，吸引到了来自风险投资企业Astellas公司以及药品制造商Amgen公司的大笔投资。2010年也被《商业周刊》选为全球最具吸引力的新兴公司之一。
大型企业中，荣膺榜首的是杜邦公司，杜邦公司成立于1802年，是一家以科研为基础的全球性企业，在全球70个国家经营业务，共有员工8万多人，这家企业入选MIT Technology Review国际最具创新企业，近期新获得689个专利，以及1786个新产品。先锋良种（杜邦）公司排列第二，这家公司每年在研发上的投入不少于销售额的10%，因此在生物技术、分子标记与育种技术等尖端科技领域拥有全球领先优势。
生物探索推荐英文原文：
Innovation and Research: The Human Factor
Continuous innovation and outstanding research are the most important attributes to respondents choosing this year's best biotech and pharma companies—yet to top employers, their scientists' ingenuity and enthusiasm are the real essentials for excellence.
The 2011 Science Careers Top Employers Survey was designed to identify the 20 companies with the finest reputations in the industry, as well as the characteristics that most impact an employer's status. The results are based on 3,784 responses to a web-based survey (see survey methodology in chart below). Nearly half of the respondents are under 40 years old, 79 percent work in the United States, and 40 percent are female.
Besides innovation and research, survey respondents expect a leading company to be socially responsible, treat its employees with respect, and inspire their loyalty. This year, the #5 criteria—"has a top leadership that successfully makes changes needed to keep the organization moving in the right direction"—replaced 2010's "has a clear vision of where the organization is headed." (See Driving Characteristics chart below.)
The 2011 results brought a new, first-time #1 employer: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (#3 in 2010). In fact, three of the highest-ranking companies are new to the top 20 list (see Top 20 Employers chart below for complete company listing). These shifts aren't surprising, because "It's been an interesting time in the industry," observesAlan Smith, Genzyme Corporation's chief scientific officer before its acquisition by Sanofi. "For us, the past year has been a period of upheaval, but we've regularly scored well in this survey," he notes (Genzyme is #13 this year, #8 in 2010). Now chief science advisor for Sanofi Global Research and Development, he says, "As part of Sanofi, we'll take the approach we've used at Genzyme and apply it more generally."
Other top employers are entering new phases, too. Vertex recently introduced their first drug, Incivek, to the market, and has begun been building their first commercial team. "This [survey] recognition is tied directly to the passion and creativity that our 1,800 employees bring to Vertex each day, as we seek to change the lives of people with devastating diseases," says Peter Mueller, Vertex's chief science officer and executive vice president for global research and development.
详细排名阅读：Top Twenty Employer.pdf
