Pharmaceutical companies are companies licensed to discover, manufacture and distribute pharmaceutical medicines or drugs. Currently there are about 200 major pharmaceutical companies in the world and some of them use biotechnology to produce drugs. This particular technique uses biological systems or living organisms to obtain derivatives. Drugs thus obtained are typically known as biopharmaceuticals, which are turning out to be another important aspect for the companies. In recent times technology has developed more efficient methods and informatics systems through which the companies study diseases that cause infections and other symptoms. This study is further used to invent new medicines by identifying active ingredients of traditional medicine.

Pharmaceutical companies have full-fledged laboratories that are equipped with latest infrastructure, wherein chemists and scientists work continuously to identify factors such as genetics and cellular structure that play an important role in various diseases. Establishing this facility is an expensive affair. The companies are required to have post approval, sales surveillance and a license from the government prior to clinical test of the drugs. Clinical testing involves three stages, of which the first stage determines the safety and tolerability of the drug. The second and third stages determine the effectiveness of these drugs. Extensive drug tests are done on animals before they are administered to humans.

Physicians play a major role in the sales of medicines of pharmaceutical companies. It is through their prescriptions, that medicines reach patients and have a potential for widening the market. Hence, these companies advertise and market their products to the physicians first. Pharmaceutical marketing is complex and requires indigenous discipline.

Some of the major pharmaceutical companies that are known all over the world are Pfizer, Glaxosmithkline and Sanofi-Aventis. These companies patent all their products, as the risk of forgery is substantially large in this field. Development in the field of medicine has enabled doctors to provide solutions for diseases, which were incurable earlier. Pharmaceutical companies play the role of lifesavers.