pharma

noun

phar·​ma ˈfär-mə 

: a pharmaceutical company

also : large pharmaceutical companies as a group

Examples of pharma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Soaring demand for these treatments has made Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly the largest pharma companies in the world and has had broader effects on the economy. Execs at both Nestle and Walmart have noted that these drugs are shifting consumer preferences. —Bruce Gil, Quartz, 12 Dec. 2024

The exhibition’s highlight is a 25-foot beach scene commissioned in 1988 by GlaxoSmithKline, a multinational pharma giant, for its offices in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

Larger pharma companies like Roche, Amgen (AMGN), and Pfizer are also working on their own anti-obesity drugs. —Bruce Gil, Quartz, 9 Oct. 2024

Viking Therapeutics is developing both a weight loss injection and a pill while large pharma companies like Roche and Pfizer are also working on their own anti-obesity drugs. —Bruce Gil, Quartz, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for pharmaceutical

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

pharma

noun

phar·​ma ˈfär-mə 

: a pharmaceutical company

But the rate at which pharmas have grown in size pales beside the acceleration of relevant scientific knowledge during the same period.

—Science

also : large pharmaceutical companies as a group

Another issue pharma will face is an even more cost-conscious consumer as a result of insurers continuing to pass on additional costs to their members.

—Shaun Urban, Medical Marketing and Media

The Medicare prescription drug benefit enacted in 2003, and scheduled to go into effect in 2006, promises a windfall for big pharma since it forbids the government from negotiating prices.

—Marcia Angell, The New York Review of Books