pharma
noun
phar·ma
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Definition of pharma
: a pharmaceutical company
also
: large pharmaceutical companies as a group
Examples of pharma in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Less than two percent of what pharma companies earn on contraceptives go back into research and development of new methods, according to the Gates Foundation. — Courtney Hamilton Knight, Glamour, "We Have the Same Birth Control Options as Our Grandmothers. We Need a Better Plan A.," 26 Aug. 2019 The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that pharma giants Pfizer and Mylan are nearing a deal that could create a global powerhouse in the low-price drug market. — Jackie Wattles, CNN, "Pfizer and Mylan reportedly near merger deal for low-priced drugs," 27 July 2019 Your corrupt pharma giant is called Dr. Smile; his wife is named Happy. — Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, "Salman Rushdie on Corruption and the Opioid Crisis," 22 July 2019 Now that there’s been a death, the agency might have to reconsider, and one consequence could be that a still-grassroots procedure based on donations moves into the realm of pharma companies, intellectual property, and much higher costs. — Maryn Mckenna, WIRED, "The Death of a Patient and the Future of Fecal Transplants," 11 July 2019 Further Reading Shkreli directing notorious pharma co. from prison. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Shkreli stays in jail; Infamous ex-pharma CEO quickly loses appeal," 18 July 2019 Cannabis companies are increasingly taking big investments from big-money backers in the tobacco, food, beverage, and pharma markets. — Jenni Avins, Quartz, "A cannabis CEO is fired and blames it on Big Booze," 3 July 2019 Big pharma earned an average return of just 1.8% in 2018 on research-and-development spending, according to Deloitte. — Charley Grant, WSJ, "AbbVie and Big Pharma: No Miracle Cures," 25 June 2019 In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration chided a Canadian pharma company who paid the reality TV star to shill an anti-nausea pill to her 74 million Instagram and Twitter followers without citing the risks of the prescription drug. — Anne Quito, Quartzy, "A new “university” for Instagram influencers aims to stop the spread of misinformation," 23 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pharma.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for pharma
pharma
noun
phar·ma
| \ ˈfär-mə
\
\
Medical Definition of pharma
: 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, 13 Apr. 2001
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, February 2011 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, 15 July 2004