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

The Wall Street firm noted valuation concerns, a competitive landscape and risks to ad spending on digital pharma products. —Yun Li, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025

Danish pharma firm Novo Nordisk, which also makes the top 100, is similarly known for a culture where employees call the CEO by their first name, and don’t feel pressure to stay at work late. —Adam Gale, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025

The company’s efforts to improve its dimming sales growth prospects with an obesity medicine have largely flopped, leaving the pharma giant sidelined from the industry’s hottest market. —Bloomberg, Oc Register, 22 Sep. 2025

The truth is, today’s best nutricosmetics are built on pharma-grade processes and subjected to clinical trials published in high-credibility scientific journals. —Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for pharmaceutical

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pharma

• dharma
• karma

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