A contribution to understand the pharmaceutical industry in the financialized capitalist dynamics

Abstract

Financial dominance is a new systemic pattern of wealth that establishes new ways to define, manage and realize wealth. Non-financial corporations have transformed themselves in line with financial dominance, which can cause developments in the productive and innovation dynamics, as well as in national economies. During the coronavirus pandemic, Covid-19, the extreme need for technological development imputes the importance of a retrospective look to the pharmaceutical sector. The article discusses the changes brought about by financialization in the scope of the pharmaceutical industry. To this end, a review of the scientific literature was carried out by systematic search and selection. The articles, mostly about companies based in the UK and the USA, showed financial dominance due to the company's conception as an asset, participation of high-risk funds, the role of intangible assets, maximization of shareholder value, vertical disintegration of activities, intensification of mergers and acquisitions and shortening the planning horizon. These elements were not homogeneous in all studies, requiring country-specific analyzes and case studies. This review contributed to the discussion of technological advances and points out gaps in scientific production in the context of peripheral economies and linked to public policies and health systems.

Keywords:
pharmaceutical industry; financialization; political economics