noun
pharma
noun
1
The pharmaceutical industry — the business of developing, making, and selling drugs.
"Big pharma spends billions each year on research and marketing."
"She landed a sales job in pharma straight out of university."
How to Use Pharma
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn informal, often slightly critical shorthand for the drug-making business as a whole.
When to use it
Informal/journalistic — you would not use "pharma" in a formal scientific paper, but it is standard in news and business writing.
Common pairings
big pharma
work in pharma
the pharma industry
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Big _____ spends billions each year on research and marketing.
Etymology
A shortened, informal clipping of "pharmaceutical."