The pharmaceutical industry is responsible for the development, production, and marketing of medications. The pharmaceutical industry continues to develop and manufacture drugs and medications to control and eliminate diseases in the world. There are interesting facts about the pharmaceutical industry that we don’t know and here are some of them:
- Pharmaceutical companies generate an estimated $300 billion in profit a year.
- Penicillin was the first antibiotic used by doctors discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
- Pfizer and John and Johnsons are two of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world.
- There is still no complete cure for Cancer, HIV, or Parkinson’s disease.
- Developing a new drug costs 2.6 billion dollars.
6. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry began in 1818 and Robert Shoemaker, a glycerin maker, was the first large-scale pharmaceutical maker in the country.
7. Big pharmaceutical companies spend truly huge amounts of money to pay off their lawsuits and fines.
8. Only the USA and New Zealand in the entire world where pharmaceutical companies are allowed to create direct-to-consumer ads.
9. Humira is the best-selling prescription drug in the world. It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other related diseases made by Abbott Laboratories (ABT).
10. Bayer, the pharmaceutical giant responsible for Aspirin, once marketed heroin as a non-addictive morphine substitute and cough suppressant.
11. Lipitor is the best-selling drug of all time. It was introduced in 1997 and its patent expired in 2011, making about $125 billion.
12. According to the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Louis J. Dufilho Jr. of Louisiana became the first to pass the exam in 1816, and he is known as the first legitimate pharmacist in the U.S.
13. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, developed the syrup for Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886.
14. The biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world spend most of their money on marketing, not on drug research or developing new therapies. The bulk of the money pharmaceutical companies spend goes into promotion.
15. Before he discovered electricity, Benjamin Franklin dispensed medicine as a pharmacist. He worked as a clerk in a local mercantile store, where he dispensed medicines, herbs and other cures.
There are also shocking facts about the pharmaceutical industry that we may not have heard aside from the facts mentioned above. Big pharmaceutical companies were accused of putting income or profit above patients or the needs of patients. But despite being bashed and getting criticisms, according to Medical News Today, companies like Abbott, Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, and others have donated millions of dollars in cash and supplies to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
If you know any interesting facts about the pharmaceutical industry, feel free to comment below or you may share your thoughts about these facts.
Written by: Abegail Galang
Resources:
World Health Organization (WHO)
Alux.com
Medical News Today
Investing News
The Clever
Top Foreign Stocks
Dragon Production
Pharmacy Times
The Nest
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