Market Research & Competitive Intelligence

Pharmaceutical searching can be quite complex, and it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the research and development pipeline for pharmaceuticals and the variations on drug names. When doing a comprehensive drug search, it is important to know the many names the drug may have had, such as CAS registry numbers, generic names, and trade names.

To do in-depth market research in the pharmaceutical industry may require access to some very powerful - and fee-based - databases. The online sources selected here are on the Internet and will allow access to some good information for free, but really only skim the surface regarding competitive information and market research on the pharmaceutical industry.

Online Resources

Inteleos UNC Access ONLY
The NDA Pipeline tracks drug and biological product approvals. It includes a comprehensive listing of drugs in research, descriptions of phases of development, and licensing information. The NDA Pipeline also links to other publications from the FDC Reports.

FDC Reports: Pink Sheet; Tan Sheet; Pharmaceutical Approvals Monthly UNC Access ONLY
"The Pink Sheet" covers prescription pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and provides up-to-date information on companies, products, markets, personnel, regulatory and legislative activities, financial performance, and scientific or legal developments of importance to businesses involved in health care in the U.S. "The Tan Sheet" covers nonprescription pharmaceuticals and nutritionals.

PhRMA: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
This site contains many useful statistical tidbits pertaining to the pharmaceutical industry, including collective R&D expenditures and sales for member companies.

PharmaPortal
Contains daily updates on news and information on the fast changing pharmaceutical marketing and media world. Links to full text articles are available from Applied Clinical Trials, BioPharm, Pharmaceutical Executive, and Pharmaceutical Technology.

ABI/Inform Global UNC Access ONLY
ABI/Inform Global includes in-depth coverage of business conditions, trends, corporate strategies and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product information, as well as information on advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers, and more.