For the fifth consecutive year, AstraZeneca has been named a 'top employer' in Science magazine's ranking of the world's most respected bio-pharmaceutical employers.
The ranking, determined from a survey conducted by an independent research firm commissioned by the business office of the journal Science, appears in a special supplement in the October 20 issue. This year, AstraZeneca ranked fifth overall.
According to John Patterson, Executive Director, Global Drug Development, "We are pleased to be recognised as a top employer in our industry. By continuing to invest in a culture that encourages innovation we are helping to ensure a strong future for AstraZeneca."
Adds Jan Lundberg, Executive Vice President Discovery Research, "This recognition is a testament to our great science and great people. By consistently delivering high working standards we aim to create an environment of respect, reward and results."
Similar to a 2005 Science ranking of biopharma employers, the 2006 survey sought to identify the companies with the best reputations as employers, based on 656 survey responses from Science readers.
Survey parameters:
Survey responses were analyzed by Senn-Delany Culture Diagnostics and Measurement, which used a mathematical process to assign a unique score to rate the employer reputation of some 331 companies, taking into account 42 specific characteristics or attributes in seven categories. Each company was rated, for example, based on whether employees are treated with respect, whether work-culture values are aligned with personal values, and other factors.
