Best B-School for Biotech MBA?

if you want to be the head of R&D or something still heavily related to science, you don't need an MBA. I work for a leading biotech company and from what I see, MBA hires at my company goes to the business side, either marketing, business planning, or operations (MIT LGO folks~). Unfortunately strategic planning on R&D side still rely on the shoulders of R&D heads, who are PHDs/MDs rather than MBAs. Of course they cooperate with business/finance people, but the business side do not drive how decisions are made in R&D. People do get part-time MBA though, but it's really not a requirement to get to the position you are describing.

Hi Dreamchaser,
I actually think you are absolutely right, those jobs are filled with scientist or MDs, often with MD/PhDs. So I have this theory about the MDs though, you will see them in high positions, but often not on the very top, whereas you will see PhDs there. However, I believe there is a really strong correlation between top jobs and having a MD/PhD. Of course these people are uniquely qualified in that they understand the basic science and it's patient applications, but I believe they bring one other skill to the table that most PhDs do not: They are 'people persons'. While many scientist naturally tend to ( and have been trained to ) work independently, MDs really are people centric in that they know how to communicate complex situations to people and make decisions in conjunction with other people. In my opinion this team-work and open communication approach combined with the scientific rigor explains why many MD/PhDs excell in leadership positions.
Now as for me, there is not a chance in the world I'm going to medical school. However, I believe getting an MBA would be an option for me. Not only will those two years spent with small study groups and team work hone my communication and interpersonal skills, but I believe the extra training in the field of general management and operations will aid me in effectively leading a big research unit. It seems to me that one can certainly pick these skills up on the job, but going from scientist to Exec. Director or up is a very long climb when you choose this traditional route. I see getting an MBA as a chance to obtain such a position more rapidly. I understand it is illusionistic to assume I will be offered such a position once my MBA is completed, but I believe I will have a realistic shot at obtaining a position that is more that of a manager rather than a scientist upon job market entree.

Does that make sense to you? Please let me know, I value all input very much!

Do you currently hold a PHD? If you do then I think it's a viable option, although an unconventional one. I agree that MDs tend to have better soft skills, but I think the key factor MDs or MD/PHDs dominate the R&D management is their breath of knowledge in the field. A traditional bioengineering or chemistry PHD tends to have very specialized knowledge in one particular niche area but lacks the others. So this little fact indicates what someone needs to get to the top of R&D management, a very solid and broad scientific experience. And that brings to my point that MBA is a nice to have, but you probably won't gain much of an advantage if your scientific experience is not strong (or long/broad enough). I agree that climbing the corporate ladder is frustrating, especially in the R&D world in this industry. But I would actually suggest considering a part-time MBA (or executive MBA depends on your level) if you want to stay in the R&D sphere. Full-time MBA is great for career changers and people in transitional business sector to advance their career, but in a field such as R&D management where industry experience is much more valued, full-time MBA might not be the best choice. I personally have not encountered any ED in R&D that comes directly from an MBA (this could be different at other companies though). So instead of taking time off for MBA, staying within the industry, branching out, getting both research and development experiences,working in different departments while getting more management skills through a decent parttime MBA program helps guiding your career upwards more rapidly.

Just my 2 cents based on my limited experience in my company, please take it with a grain of salt

One last thing, you might want to consider finding a few mentors who hold positions that you want to attain in the future and see what are the different routes to get there. I could be totally wrong, you just have to find a few examples to prove me wrong