Table 1.

Summary Differences Between the Pharmaceutical and Device Industries

Devices industry	Pharmaceutical industry
Industry characteristics
Annual global revenue ∼US$200 billion	Annual global revenue ∼ US$600 billion
Comprised mostly of small- tomedium-sized companies	Comprised primarily of large multinationals
Younger, more localized industry	Mature global industry
Represented by AdvaMed,MEDEC, EucoMed	Represented by PhRMA*, IFPMA†
Products
Draws upon mechanical,electrical, materials, and bio-engineering, now expanding to biotechnology, etc.	Traditionally centered on pharmacology and chemistry, now expanding tobiotechnology, etc.
Mechanical or electrical devices, or both, to replace or augment body parts and/or function with more localized effects	Stable, unchanging molecular entities with systemic effects
Product development
Short iterative cycles each lasting months, to demonstrate safety, and effectiveness	Years of clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy
Continuous incremental improvements introduced during product evaluation	Product essentially unchanged during evaluation
Annual revenue target usually <$100 million	Blockbuster annual revenue target >$1 billion
Investment recovery period as short as 18 months	Years of market exclusivity
Less reliance on publications of clinical trial results for marketing	Marketing approach relies more heavily on clinical trials and publications

*Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

†International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations