25% of Responsibility Built on Competition

The United States houses almost 25% of the world’s market value in the over-the-counter pharmaceuticals industry.  That's a staggering figure.  That's a lot of pills.  That figure means that our country can be pegged for medicating one quarter of the globe.  But not to worry, because even though the companies in our country are responsible for a huge weight of human life, no one of them controls everything.  No single entity could decide to suddenly be unethical and start causing trouble because of how fragmented the competitive landscape of the pharmaceutical industry is in the US.  There are a few key players that we should all know, however.

The one with the biggest market share in the US of 18.1% is Johnson and Johnson.  A conglomeration we all know well through their products: Tylenol, Sudafed, Zyrtec, Motrin IB, and Pepcid AC.  Johnson and Johnson contains both a ubiquitous and pervasive product line, and this explains it's huge impact on the US pharmaceutical market.  Their total revenue of $61.9 billion and pharmaceutical revenue of $22.5 billion should also be taken into account as incredible sums of money which truly exemplify J&J's number one spot.

The second largest market share in the US pharmaceutical industry belongs to Pfizer with a thoroughly respectable 5.9%.  Pfizer has historically been a much more research based company than Johnson and Johnson, however, with their recent acquisition of over-the-counter giant Wyeth, their product line has expanded to include many household brands like Chapstick and Advil.  Pfizer had a total revenue of $50 billion in 2009, although a fair portion of that figure can be attributed to other sides of their business like animal care.  Pfizer remains a prime example of a research and development based company taking on more consumer focused firms in an industry that with a split focus between the two sides.

One last company which isn't generally thought of as a typical pharmaceutical giant, yet has a great deal market impact on the US competitive landscape is another large collection of smaller sub-companies, Proctor and Gamble.  P&G may not have a prescription medication focus like J&J and Pfizer, but their over-the-counter selection is just as formidable as the above two firms.  Oral-B, Actonel, and Old Spice are just a few of the many that remain emblazoned with a tiny P&G.  A total revenue of  $79 billion is nothing to be taken lightly, even if only a portion of Proctor and Gamble actually goes after the pharmaceutical market.  

There are, of course, hundreds of other pharmaceutical companies at work within the US market.  Some of these firms research and develop their own new medications in an effort to develop new brands, while others manufacture active ingredients for the big three.  No one company may be responsible for all of the 25% global market share which the US holds, but that fact doesn't limit their duty to the quarter of the world they serve through their goods and services. 

-Spencer Swan

Information for this article was gathered from:

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BCRC?vrsn=unknown&locID=wash11212&srchtp=ind&ids=pharmaceutical&c=5&iType=naics&mode=i&ste=87&tbst=tsIS&cind=3254+-+Pharmaceutical+and+Medicine+Manufacturing&tab=2048&docNum=A235174124&bConts=2306