pharma

American  

[fahr-muh] / ˈfɑr mə /

noun

1. a pharmaceutical company or pharmaceutical companies considered collectively.

   He works for pharma.

2. Usually pharmaceutical companies considered collectively, especially with reference to their political and commercial influence.

   Pharma is expanding into China, hoping to replace local remedies with manufactured drugs.

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adjective

1. of or relating to pharmaceutical companies or the pharmaceutical industry.

   Pharma reps don't sell directly to doctors.

pharma British  

/ ˈfɑːmə /

noun

1. pharmaceutical companies when considered together as an industry

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Etymology

Origin of pharma

First recorded in 1990–95; short for pharmaceutical

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pharma

Roche said sales grew 7% when excluding currency changes, with increases in both its pharma and diagnostics divisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

“If they are too similar to other names that already exist in pharma, it can be fatal,” Wise told attendees at the Business of Naming conference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

With the move, the company joins a growing list of European pharma companies committing to invest in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Traditional pharma companies and AI-native drug discovery startups are investing at a scale that will require a jump in biological data generation, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

"We see a lot of the traditional big R&D spenders -- pharma, cars, construction -- cutting back on their R&D spend", he noted.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

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