‘Commercial Talent Is the New Bottleneck in MedTech and Biotech Growth’

For much of the past decade, success in medical devices, life sciences, and biotechnology has been defined by scientific excellence. Strong R&D teams, breakthrough IP, and regulatory progress were the primary currencies of growth.

Today, that equation has changed.

Across the UK, Europe, and the US, SMEs continue to face funding and technology challenges, but many are now discovering that securing the right commercial talent can be just as difficult — and just as limiting to growth.

From “Can we build it?” to “Can we sell it?”

Most early-stage and scale-up life science businesses are built by scientists, engineers, and clinicians. This foundation is essential. But once products approach clinical adoption or regulatory approval, the real challenge begins. Who is going to navigate complex hospital procurement systems, focus on winning competitive tenders, educating clinicians and stakeholders, building distributor networks, managing long enterprise sales cycles and demonstrating health-economic value? These challenges require a very different skillset from pure technical innovation.

Often SMEs delay investing in commercial leadership until late in their growth cycle — often after momentum has already slowed and this is having a real impact on successfully expanding the business.

In 2025–2026, we are seeing a structural shortage of professionals who combine:

• Sector-specific sales experience (e.g. capital equipment, diagnostics, consumables, SaaS, or combination products)

• Clinical or technical credibility with physicians and hospital decision-makers

• Regulatory and compliance awareness across different geographies

• Experience scaling territories or launching products rather than maintaining mature portfolios

These individuals are rare, globally mobile, and in high demand and often results in longer hiring timelines, increased salary inflation, higher counter-offer rates and at times failed or delayed market entries.

Why this matters more for SMEs than large corporations – Large multinationals can absorb hiring mistakes. SMEs cannot. For a 20–200 person organisation:

• One Territory Manager can represent 20–40% of regional revenue

• One Head of Sales can determine the success or failure of a product launch

• One Market Access specialist can unlock — or block — entire healthcare systems

Commercial hires are no longer “support roles”. They are value-creation roles.

One notable trend across all regions is the growing demand for hybrid profiles:

• Clinical specialists who move into sales leadership

• Engineers who become product managers

• Regulatory professionals who transition into market access

• Scientists who develop investor and customer-facing responsibilities

These profiles bridge the credibility gap between product and purchaser — but they are difficult to identify, attract, and assess without deep sector knowledge.

Successful High-growth SMEs across the UK, Europe, and the US are shifting their approach:

1. Hiring commercial talent earlier – Bringing in sales and market access expertise before product launch, not after.

2. Paying for impact, not just experience – Focusing on proven outcomes — tender wins, territory builds, first-in-country launches — rather than job titles.

3. Building lean but senior teams – Choosing fewer, higher-calibre hires over large junior sales forces.

4. Using specialist recruitment partners – Generalist hiring models struggle to assess complex sector-specific competencies.

Recruitment is no longer a transactional function, it is a strategic lever. Choosing the right commercial professionals can, shorten time to revenue, improve investor confidence, increase valuation, reduce regulatory and compliance risk and strengthen long-term customer relationships. And it doesn’t need to be said but I will, choosing the wrong ones can do the opposite.

Final thoughts – Scientific innovation remains the heart of medtech and biotech but commercial execution is now the circulatory system that allows that innovation to thrive. For SMEs competing in increasingly crowded global markets, the ability to attract and retain the right commercial talent is no longer optional — it is a defining factor of success.

How can Remtec help you
At Remtec Talent Management Ltd, we work closely with SMEs and growing organisations within the Life Sciences and MedTech sectors to overcome leadership hiring challenges and scale sustainably. As both an executive search firm and HR consultancy, we combine deep industry insight with practical, commercially focused talent strategies to help businesses attract, assess, and retain the right people for long-term success.

We support clients through:

Executive Search & Market Mapping – Identifying talent with the precise blend of technical, regulatory, and commercial experience required to succeed in today’s complex environment and to support expansion into new markets.

Succession Planning & Leadership Development – Helping organisations strengthen internal pipelines so future leaders can be developed as the business grows, reducing risk and dependency on reactive hiring.

Cultural & Role Alignment – Ensuring clarity of mandate and strong alignment between leadership style, organisational culture, and business strategy, which is especially critical for SMEs navigating periods of rapid change.

Hiring in Life Sciences and MedTech will always be demanding — but with the right strategy, planning, and partnerships, it does not have to limit growth. At Remtec Talent Management, we are committed to helping SMEs and established organisations alike build leadership capability that drives innovation, supports regulatory compliance, and enables sustainable long-term growth.

Email Nigel Job (Nigel@remtectalent.com to arrange a chat to discuss how we may be able to help, or just some friendly advice. www.remtectalent.com