As I've mentioned before on the blog, it can be difficult to gauge trends in the biotech job market here because while mass lay offs are usually announced (think Sonus, Nastech, and ZymoGenetics), mass hirings usually are not.

But in writing on the Gilead Sciences cystic fibrosis trial results today (see that post here), I asked spokesman Nathan Kaiser how many employees worked at company's operations in Seattle. He said Gilead now employs 130 here. Last time I wrote about Gilead, in November, the company had 105 employees in the area.

I asked Kaiser why Gilead's work force here had increased. He said:

The increased headcount is reflective of Gilead's commitment to build a center of expertise in respiratory diseases in Seattle. Gilead's Seattle employees are leading research and development for respiratory diseases with unmet medical need, including preclinical and clinical development of treatments for (cystic fibrosis).

The increased headcount is also significant because Corus Pharma had only 95 employees before Gilead Sciences purchased the Seattle company in 2006, establishing Gilead's Seattle operations (Read an article on that deal here).