Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry manufacture and process pharmaceutical products. Major companies include Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer (all based in the US), as well as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline (both based in the UK), Bayer (Germany), Novartis and Roche (both based in Switzerland), and Sanofi (France).

Annual worldwide revenue from pharmaceutical manufacturing is about $1 trillion and is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2024, according to a 2020 forecast from market intelligence firm IQVIA. Worldwide spending on medicines is increasing due to economic growth in developing nations and the rising cost of specialty drugs. Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland are the largest importers of pharmaceuticals, but manufacturers are targeting emerging economies for growth.

The US pharmaceutical manufacturing industry includes about 2,400 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $210 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Pharmaceutical manufacturers compete to discover and commercialize ever-more effective medicines. Companies focus on the most profitable markets, where demand for treatment is high. Key areas of development include cardiovascular, cancer, and diabetes medications, as increases in the number of elderly and obese patients fuel disease growth in these categories. Companies may also focus on rare disease categories, where available treatments are limited or nonexistent and opportunities exist for expedited approvals and profitable pricing.

The traditional drug manufacturing industry increasingly overlaps with the biotechnology industry, which is a source of ...