History of the pharmaceutical industry

The pharmaceutical industry, as we now know it, is barely 60 years old. From very modest beginnings it has grown rapidly, reaching an estimated value of 100 billion by the mid-1980s. Its current value is likely double this figure or more. There are well in excess of 10000 pharmaceutical companies in existence, although only about 100 of these can claim to be of true international significance. These companies manufacture in excess of 5000 individual pharmaceutical substances used routinely in medicine. 

The first stages of development of the modern pharmaceutical industry can be traced back to the turn of the twentieth century. At that time (apart from folk cures), the medical community had at their disposal only four drugs that were effective in treating specific diseases  

Pharmaceutical product Biopharmaceutical Biotechnology medicine Biologic  

Proteins obtained by direct extraction from native source (e.g. blood derived clotting factors) No Yes Some (e.g. blood factors and polyclonal antibodies) 

Antisense oligonucleotides manufactured by direct chemical synthesis Yes No No 

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Still on the subject of Chaques s thesis,9 we could add that it tells the history of the pharmaceutical industry in Spain over the last 40 years. It features chapters on pharmaceutical policy during the Franco regime, the transition to democracy, the Socialist reform of the 1980s and the Popular Parly governments. It also considers the effects of globalization and the decentralization process in Spain. 

Richmond, Lesley, Julie Stevenson and Alison Turton, eds. The Pharmaceutical Industry A Guide to Historical Records. Aldershot, Hampshire, England Ashgate, 2003. This guide facilitates the study of the pharmaceutical industry in Britain by providing information on the location of archives and company records. Few will want to examine the archives, but the book also includes brief histories of some companies, a chronology of pharmaceutical legislation, and essays by experts on the history of the industry. The material on Britain shows both similarities and differences to the history of the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. 

J. Liebenau, G. J. Higby and E. C. Stroud, eds, Pill Peddlers, Essays on the History of the Pharmaceutical Industry, American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, Madison, WI, 1990. 

The first statins were launched by Merck with lovastatin (Mevacor ) in 1987 and then simvistatin (Zocor ) in 1991. Bristol-Myers launched pravastatin (Pravacol ) in 1991 Pfizer commercialized atorvastatin calcium (Lipitor ) in 1997. As measured by annual sales, Lipitor is the most successful drug in the history of the pharmaceutical industry [13]. Rosuvastatin calcium (Crestor ) is AstraZeneca s top drug with 6.6 billion in annual sales [14]. 

This chapter discusses the history, technological advances of chromatography data systems. Also included here are the particular needs of the pharmaceutical industry and the future directions of CDS. 

The history of the pharmaceutical sciences is an impressive success story. The products of the pharmaceutical industries contribute to our high living standards and health. Since pharmaceuticals were first produced, their use and application have been linked to pollution of the environment. In the last part of the twentieth century, tremendous progress was made in preventing pollution of the environment by chemicals and in reducing the impact of such pollution on health. The different sources of pharmaceuticals for human use in the environment and their distribution are depicted in Figure 9.1. 

Anti-inflammatory drugs have a special, if not pivotal, place in the history of Western medicine and drug therapy and in the birth and evolution of the pharmaceutical industry. From at least the time of early Chinese and Egyptian civilizations over 5,000 years ago, humans sought plants and other natural materials for the relief of the four signs of inflammation— redness, heat, swelling, and pain. We know that as early as 400 BC, the Greek physician Hippocrates advocated the use... 

Kim S-H, Lee S-H, Yim H-J (2013) Gemigliptin, a novel dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor first new anti-diabetic drug in the history of Korean pharmaceutical industry. Arch Pharm Res 36 1185-1188... 

The history of the pharmaceutical sciences is a story of never ending creation of new molecules and searching for new mechanisms for the treatment of illness. It has come to light that there may also be unwanted side effects when pharmaceutically active compounds are administered to human beings and animals. The products of the pharmaceutical industry are all around us in everyday life. They increase the standard of living. 

Jonathan Liebenau s very general survey, Ethical business The formation of the pharmaceutical industry in Britain, Germany, and the United States before 1914 , Business History, 30 (1988), 116-129, represents an exception. It is, however, partly inaccurate. 

The chapter takes an historical political economy lens to the development of the pharmaceutical industry, providing an overview and then examining three coimtries industrial history in more depth. By a political economy lens we mean a view of the evolution of the industry that replaces it within its historical political and economic context. Pharmaceuticals share many elements of the broader African experiences of industrialization. The industry also has, however, some very specific characteristics concerning technology and markets. 

The rest of this chapter briefly compares the industrial evolution of the pharmaceutical industry in three contrasting countries Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania. We show that their pharmaceutical sectors did not arise in isolation in each case, the pharmaceutical industry co-evolved in important aspects with the broader industrial development. National patterns of industrial growth and periods of deindustrialization, along with shifts in industrial ownership and financing, are reflected in pharmaceutical firms evolution. Broad industrial, macroeconomic and political economy influences are shared across industries in national industrial histories. 

In addition to the increased precision in the communication between the researcher and the programmer, there will be an increase in the accuracy of the data involved in the research. As Mason [23] pointed out early on in the history of computer use, authenticity and correctness are necessary for accuracy. One current controversy in the pharmaceutical industry, in fact, depends on accuracy, which in turn affects liability. People in and out of the industry are discussing how best to make research visible to potential users of drugs. 

P. Boussel, H. Bonnemain, and F. Bove. History of Pharmacy and the Pharmaceutical Industry. Asklepious Press, Paris, 1983. 

One of the most accomplished forensic pathologists in the world, Dr. Steven B. Karch is a fellow of several forensic and toxicological societies and has served many years as consultant to both the legal community and the pharmaceutical industry. He has authored several books including one of the most widely used textbooks in the field, Pathology of Drug Abuse, now in its fourth edition, and A Brief History of Cocaine, now in its second edition (also available through CRC Press). 

The pharmacopeias have worked with the ICH process to facilitate the international environment of pharmaceutical research and product registration. On the other hand, the additional situation for compendia is that the standards which they have published now apply to all of the already marketed products. In that case a company has testing history and product history in their quality control departments. These are the most conservative elements within the pharmaceutical industry as is necessary to their task. Quality control departments are reluctant to change methods when they feel that their products are properly represented by the current of tests. Therefore, a tension is ereated between trying to develop harmonized standards, which facilitate one area of activity in the world of pharmaeeutieals, and not disturbing a satisfactory marketplace. A vast amount of progress has been made in the harmonization of phar-maeopeial methods. 

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