Competition in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The pharmaceutical industry is influenced by, and reacts to, the external environment within which it operates. The strategies adopted by firms within the industry are chosen on the basis that they may provide the most effective defence against a number of external pressures as well as internal determinants. In examining the competitive environment of the pharmaceutical industry it is therefore important to assess those parameters that are most likely to determine future strategy. To this end, a structural analysis of competition which focuses on both the operating and remote environments of the pharmaceutical industry is required.