Ultragenyx reviews

3.4

45% would recommend to a friend

(245 total reviews)
avatar

Emil Kakkis

67% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Ultragenyx has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 245 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ultragenyx employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

245 reviews
4.0
Sep 17, 2025

Good Mission

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

work life balance supportive team

Cons

Compensation skeleton team work politics

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Ultragenyx Response
9mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for having been on our team! We are so glad to hear you felt supported and that you had balance in your life. We work hard to provide competitive pay and benefits, as well as staffing support where needed. If you would like to share any additional thoughts, please still feel free to contact us at EmployeeRelations@ultragenyx.com. Thank you again and good luck in your future endeavors!
2.0
Jul 15, 2025

Inept Leadership at Executive Level

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Generous salaries, benefits. Good mission by CEO to help rare disease patients that big pharma wont pursue.

Cons

Massively overpaid XLT for what they bring to the table to help Emil succeed. They have utterly failed him and spent colossal amounts of money hiring employees in manufacturing, building facilities, hiring ridiculous roles in quality/compliance to manage minimal risk at external CMOs. The one internal site they built, they failed the pre-approval inspection with a CRL from the FDA resulting in a 31 percent decline in stock price on Monday. The stock was deeply diluted since 2021 from approx. 60 million shares outstanding to 100 million shares while price tanked from 75/100 per share to 27/share resulting in destruction of market cap from 5/6 billion to 2.5 billion in 4 short years while losing money every year and accumulating billions of losses and paying the executives massive amounts of salaries, bonuses and options. Since it went public in 2014 and closed at 44/share, with four approved products, 11 years later it is at 27. The board has to investigate this gross negligence and mismanagement of the company and using the company like a piggy bank with accountability.

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Ultragenyx Response
12mo
We thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. As a values-driven company, we very much appreciate the feedback of our employees. If you would like to discuss any details about your time at Ultragenyx, including your concerns related to our executive management team, feel free to reach out to our Employee Relations team at EmployeeRelations@ultragenyx.com. We wish you well in your future endeavors.
5.0
Jul 11, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Worthy mission, substantive pipeline, strong ethical & innovative core, engaged leadership, strong corporate culture, clear communication of goals and objectives, investment in employee success & development.

Cons

Challenging business environment for biotech organizations, inherent sense of urgency requires balancing multiple priorities and demands adaptability & resilience of employees, a worthy but not easy engagement.

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Ultragenyx Response
10mo
Thank you so much for your positive and balanced review. We are honored to hear that this has been the most rewarding career experience in your career. Thank you so much for your support and for being part of the team!
Viewing 13 - 15 of 245 Reviews

Glassdoor has 328 Ultragenyx reviews submitted anonymously by Ultragenyx employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ultragenyx is right for you.