Analyzing the Global Pharmaceutical Industry

The birth origins of the Pharmaceutical Industry can be traced back to more humble antecedents than just chemistry labs. The earliest incidents of recognition of the antiseptic properties of the dyestuffs is around the late 19th century. The invention of penicillin can yet be recognized as a major milestone for the emergent industry which firmly consolidated its R&D efforts in the 1950’s. Further in the 1960’s the patent regulation support gave a further impetus to the industry in new discoveries and relaxed controls on clinical development with the booming spend on healthcare as economies boomed globally.

The global presence of the pharmaceutical industry is evident with the roll out of continent specific R&D programs and drugs which help companies maximize penetration of markets and garner increased revenues with inter continental treatment demand of patients being serviced from often one or two mega research centers in the continent.

By contribution of size, the pharmaceutical industry is majorly dominant at the US, Europe and Japan. Led by these markets, the total world consumption in sales of pharmaceutical products has displayed strong growth and is expected to grow further with expanding populations in emerging markets.

The marketing aggressiveness of US-based companies has placed them at the top of the pile, being followed closely by the European sector. Countries like the UK, France and Denmark each have at least two pharmaceutical companies in their respective ten largest corporate enterprises.

Aruvian's R'search’s report – Analyzing the Global Pharmaceutical Industry - presents a complete analysis of the global pharmaceutical industry by setting up a industry demarcation and providing a study on marketing dynamic of the industry like segments active in the industry , competitive activity and the overall market outlook.

The role played by the OTC pharmaceuticals in the global pharma industry is also explained in detail in the report with the intense marketing efforts prevalent in the industry in order to push the inclusion of OTC pharmaceuticals into the buy – store segment of home segments. The often competed and hotly contested area of Generics with the rapid proliferative competition from the low cost suppliers in the emerging markets is also explained in this report with the forecast for the industry which looks upbeat.

The R&D initiatives practiced by the industry, which are often used to ward off competition as well as developing new alliances, are explained as a major thrust area powering the industry growth in this report. The report presents an invaluable input in the form of analyzing the drug development and lifecycle of a drug from discovery to discontinuation and the kind of R&D costs which are involved in developing that drug. The crucial supportive role of the patent system which energizes innovation in the industry and further efforts on genomics is also elaborated in the report.

The need for corporate social responsibility in the pharma sector which serves as a safeguard for ensuring socially ethical drug development is also provided in this report. The report delves deeper into the pricing questions that always face any global pharmaceutical company wherein the constant tug between reasonability and deriving product costs in conjunction with the objectives of the respective country’s government. The report also throws light on the issues faced by pharmaceutical majors in the developing countries wherein the effects of TRIPS and the pricing of medicines are constantly on the resolution agendas of these companies.

The TRIPS agreement has been a point of debate in the globally wherein the issues are equally contested for the developing as well as the developed countries and the options of flexibility which have inculcated in the report are explained in this report.

The report takes a critical view on the irresponsible drug promotion and advertising practiced by some pharma companies in this majorly ethical business and the issue of protecting IPR’s in the global marketplace.

An interesting phenomenon explained in this report is the practice of “offshoring” amongst the pharma companies and the value chains which have been developed to service them globally along with which the report presents a country wise analysis of the pharmaceutical markets spread globally and their respective industry dynamics which includes a profiling of the major global industry players.