Avoid Simcere Innovation - Anonymous employee Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Employee Review

It is difficult for me to express the magnitude of my displeasure with Simcere Innovation. I would not recommend this company to anyone. First, and most egregiously, the company required some employees to continue working daily during the Covid-19 shutdown, despite not working on Covid-related research. Much of this work was performed within small rooms with multiple people present at once. Also, as a response to initial concerns about working during the early Covid outbreak, the company handed out Vitamin C ‘gummies’ and demanded employees be present for normal work hours. I would like to remind others that this was a time when, as a good gesture to employees, many other biotech firms not working on Covid-19 paused operations. Additionally, I feel that the hiring process was not honest. For example, candidates were told during recruitment that they would be hired as full-time employees with benefits from the start, but essentially were hired as ‘work-to hire’ for a 6-month initial time-period. Some were also told verbally they would receive stock, while stock options were not available for this company. In addition, be advised that Simcere Innovation is a not a biotech ‘startup’ in the traditional sense, but part of a large Chinese Pharmaceutical company. Management reports to the headquarters in China, and many strategic and scientific decisions are made without input from scientist and senior-scientist’s input at the Boston location. Furthermore, there seems to be an absence of meritocratic decision making and appreciation for performance among management. Much of the work is done by a few people, while some have been allowed to exert minimal effort. This seems to depend on which group employees join. Some groups get away with doing absolutely nothing and never presenting any data. Other groups present the same data over and over again with no one seeming to notice. Other groups are expected to work nonstop. There are 5 groups in the company. Good luck choosing where you land. In short, do yourself a favor and avoid this company.