The pharmaceutics industry is experiencing dramatic global growth. Much of this is due to the fact that its business is saving and enhancing people’s lives, and there has been a rapid growth in human lives, which is to say in the global population. And the growth of population has, in turn, entailed the growth of the pharmaceutics business – by 5.95% to $585 billion in 2005, the latest fi gures we have. Other factors contributing to pharma’s upsurge have to do with modernity, as manifested in the increasing incidence of modern lifestyle diseases. New medicines come on the market to contend with such new challenges.

Here now is a potpourri of facts to limn out the current pharma picture. According to a report by Research and Consulting Outsourcing Services (RNCOS), World Pharmaceutical Market 2007, North America still leads in pharmaceutics. It accounts for 49% of the worldwide market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacifi c. The Integrated Marketing Solutions (IMS) Health Report, another authoritative study, tells us that the pharma industry was slated to grow 5-6% in 2007, with estimated sales reaching $665-685 billion. According to Murray Aitken, senior VP, IMS, the year 2007 would have seen a sea change in which growth would shift from mature markets to emerging ones. Currently, emerging markets contribute 17% of the global total, but industry research augurs that next year the fi gure may zoom up to 30%.