Pharmaceutical industry.

The pharmaceutical industry is an important segment of the chemical industry not because of its 

volume of chemicals, which is usually small, but because these chemicals are high priced per 

volume and because it employs about 30% of all technical personnel in Chemical Manufacturing. 

The pharmaceutical industry is a technologically intensive industry; it is not uncommon for drug 

companies to spend 10% of their sales on research expenditures. A typical new drug might take 

15 years and over $500 million R & D. This includes discovery, animal trials, limited human trials, 

patent applications, process development, large-scale clinical trials, regulatory approval, and

marketing. Only 3 out of 15,000 developmental drugs usually make it to full market.

Pharmaceutical preparations are drugs formulated and fabricated into their final form for direct 

consumption (tablets, capsules, etc.). The industry has grown rapidly in the past 30 years especially 

in pharmaceutical production. Examples of biological products are bacterial and virus vaccines, 

serums, plasmas, and other blood derivatives. Medicinal and botanicals include bulk organic and 

inorganic medicinal chemicals and bulk botanical drugs and herbs. Examples are alkaloids, 

anesthetics, barbituric acid and derivatives, caffeine, hormones, insulin, morphine, penicillin,

quinine, aspirin, sulfa drugs, and vitamins.

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Characteristics of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

General characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry are the following: 

(1) use of multistage batch processes rather than continuous flow.

(2) high level of product purity. 

(3) management which is usually technically oriented.

(4) high promotional costs

(5) use of generic names as well as brand or trademark names 

(6) expensive and lengthy drug testing and clinical trials. 

(7) strict regulation by the authorities. E.g. NAFDAC, FDA, SON, etc

Properties of drugs.

1. It should be nontoxic and without side effects

2. The necessary dose of any drug should be of an acceptable size and should not required too 

frequent administration over too long a period.

3. The efficiency of a drug should not be seriously reduced by body fluids, exudates, plasma 

proteins, and tissue enzymes.

4. A drug should be stable and capable of being stored for long periods, even in extreme 

climates. 

5. A drug should be easy to dispense.

Dr Afolabi Adeniyi

Chemistry Department

Federal university of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria.

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