The pharmaceutical industry isn't as sexy as biotechnology, but pharmaceutical drugs are where big money is made. An estimated $250 billion a year is spent on legal drugs worldwide. Taking medical expenses and lost productivity into account, major diseascs like AIDS, Alzheimer's, arthritis, cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and strokes cost the United States $645 billion a year. With people living longer lives, these diseases—all age-related—will become more prevalent. The pharmaceutical (pharma) companies that come up with blockbuster drugs for treatment of these diseases will make billions of dollars in profits. With so much money in the balance, he pharma industry has become a lot more competitive.
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