How to effectively integrate life sciences industry knowledge into case interview prep?

You already know more about life sciences than 90 percent of candidates. The problem is that you’re treating that knowledge like trivia instead of insight. No interviewer will ask you to explain HTA or value-based pricing. They will ask you to structure a problem about a new oncology drug launch or a medtech market entry. You win by using your background to add credibility to the math and logic, not by giving lectures.

Learn to translate expertise into business terms: regulation becomes barriers to entry, R&D becomes fixed cost, clinical trials become timelines. That’s it. The rest is casing. If you want to bridge that gap fast, use Ace the Case Interview for structure drills and Master Market Sizing for the analytical side. If you want to go end-to-end through the recruiting process, the 360° Consulting Recruiting Course ties everything together.

Hi,

Thanks for you question.

It's great that you have spent a lot of time learning about the industry.

Having this background is definitely one part of your case interview preparation. However, you will only be able to leverage this background if you get a pharma specific case that covers some of these topics.

In many cases, you will not be getting a pharma specific case at all even if for a life sciences consulting role. So instead of trying to bridge the gap between your pharma knowledge and case interview prep, you should think of the pharma knowledge you have built as a "good to have" skill set you have built that can be used when applicable. But in order to prep for cases, you should take the traditional approach of using your analytical skills to build a frame work, analyzes charts, generate insights by connect the dots etc. irrespective of the industry. Then, once you have honed your general case solving skills, you can focus on more pharma specific cases, to see how you can use your case solving skills to solve such cases, and where your pharma industry background can be leveraged. To be clear, your pharma industry prep will help to be able to conceptualize the problem quicker and better if you do get a pharma case but you need the general case solving skills in the first place.

Please feel free to reach out if you have more specific questions on interviewing for life sciences consulting, consulting projects you work on in real life and case prep. 

Thanks, 

Soh

Good question — this comes up a lot with life sciences candidates. The key is: don’t lead with your technical knowledge. Instead, focus on using it subtly and strategically to show credibility and business intuition.

From a firm’s perspective (especially Bain), most life sciences cases are more commercial than clinical — think consumer health, go-to-market, competitive strategy, etc., not deep regulatory or R&D topics. You're more likely to get a case on Haleon, Opella, or a generic OTC market entry, than on a rare disease asset with HTA complexity (unless it's ZS or IQVIA - but would leave it to experts from these firms to confirm).

Here’s how to bridge the gap:

• Use your domain knowledge to add insight, not overcomplicate. For example, say: “Since this is an OTC product, differentiation will likely hinge on retail presence and brand trust, not efficacy data.” That’s enough to signal credibility without going down a rabbit hole.
• Build one or two sector-specific mini-frameworks for common scenarios like:
  • Product launch in pharma / medtech
  • Market access + pricing strategy
  • Competitive landscape mapping (biosimilars, generics, etc.)
• Focus case prep on practical problem solving — the industry layer is just context. What matters is: can you structure, prioritize, quantify, and synthesize like a consultant?

If you're targeting L.E.K. and ZS, definitely prepare for more sector-specific cases, but still center your answer around clear, top-down logic. Think of your life sciences background as a icing on the cake.

Let me know if you want help pressure-testing a healthcare case story or building a case-ready mini framework to drop in your industry knowledge.

Hope it helps and please upvote if you find it helpful.

Best,

Kevin

That's a cool question and an admirable aspiration. 

You are expected to provide content that is not only well structured but also deep and insightful. 

The deep and insightful component is where your knowledge comes into play. Specifically, when you are at bullet point level is where you can bring this specific industry knowledge that you have. Feel free to go into detail and unpack things as the question requires. 

Best,
Cristian

Hey Kathan :)

That’s a great question and you’re already on the right track. The key is to use your life sciences knowledge to enrich rather than replace standard case structures. Keep your frameworks general (market entry, pricing, growth, etc.), but plug in sector-specific drivers when relevant, for example, patient pathways, clinical trial timelines, or HTA decisions when assessing market potential. Practice industry-specific cases so you can naturally reference these elements instead of forcing them in. Finally, use your medical background to show intuition for how products impact patients, physicians, and payers, it adds authenticity and confidence.

best, Alessa :)

You should build CASE-SPECIFIC frameworks.

Your industry knowledge should help you in identifying what is critical within the industry.

To give an example - if you are discussing sales of packaged fruit juice you should be looking into specific channels (restaurants, supermarkets, etc); if you are discussing introducing a new product related to life sciences you may have topics around regulatory approval, buy-in from prescribers and availability on pharmacies. People without the industry experience may easily forget about key variables within the industry.