So how are the different areas of the industry defined? What are the similarities and differences between them?

Pharmaceutical Industry

We'll start with the pharmaceutical industry. This sector is dominated in both size and scope by large companies often referred to as Big Pharma. Many of these giant companies that are based in the U.S. are concentrated east of the Mississippi. Additionally, several are based in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Japan. Regardless of where they are based, however, these large companies (and in fact, many of the mid-sized firms), are increasingly global in reach. This globalization is fairly recent considering the industry’s age, and has occurred primarily through mergers and acquisitions. While there are arguments for and against globalization of pharmaceuticals, no one can deny that this trend has changed the face of the industry. Companies (and eventually patients) have benefited from this extended reach into more markets because the additional income generated provides funding for further research and development. Also, access and the availability of important and life-saving drugs to impoverished nations, though not as comprehensive as many would like, has risen dramatically.

With global sales figures reaching $643 billion in 2006, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world, and the U.S. pharmaceutical industry leads the way. Its prominence has been achieved in large part through significant investment in research and development (R&D). Of course, any cutting-edge industry has robust R&D sectors, but compared with other industries a relatively high proportion of the pharma budget goes into R&D. As a result, the marketplace is constantly changing and expanding, with new products and new uses for existing products announced regularly. Expansion like this is likely to translate into a robust job market for some time to come.