This firm has had a few names, so here's the short version:
- Founded in Boston in 1995 as Leerink Swann, later Leerink Partners.
- Bought by SVB Financial in 2019 and renamed SVB Leerink, then SVB Securities.
- After Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in 2023, the management team bought the business back and it became Leerink Partners again.
Throughout, it's done one thing: healthcare and life sciences investment banking and research.
Who should apply
Students who really care about biotech, pharma and medical technology. A science degree is a genuine advantage here, not something to explain away. It's a US application, mainly Boston and New York.
On the resume
- Lead with your science. Lab work, a research project, a biology or chemistry degree. Say what you found.
- Show you understand the business side too: a pitch on a biotech, a view on a drug's commercial prospects.
Before: Research assistant in a molecular biology lab
After: Research assistant, 8-person oncology lab; ran the assay that confirmed a lead compound's activity, which the lab used in its grant renewal