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

Fortune Weight loss for less Danish pharma sensation Novo Nordisk fell under the spotlight for the wrong reasons last week. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024

Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk teased promising early-stage trial results of its experimental weight loss pill amycretin last week, resulting in the company’s stock surging. —Bruce Gil, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024

It’s been a few months of stratospheric growth for the Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy. —Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 8 Mar. 2024

The German pharma conglomerate, long under pressure to separate its drug and agricultural businesses, said yesterday that the answer to its financial problems is not a sweeping change to its structure. —Damian Garde, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024

In response, some pharma companies have responded by setting higher launch prices for new drugs. —Bruce Gil, Quartz, 23 Feb. 2024

The French pharma will also retain an 8 percent stake in the new Inhibrx company, which will continue to trade on the Nasdaq under the INBX ticker. —Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024

For practical purposes, Novo Nordisk is the Danish pharma sector. —Robert Goulder, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023

When Sanofi terminated its partnership with Maze Therapeutics this week to develop an experimental drug for Pompe disease, Maze CEO Jason Coloma did not learn the news in a conference call with the French pharma giant or even an email. —Adam Feuerstein, STAT, 12 Dec. 2023

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