1991年世界制药工业的产值超过了1652亿美元,这充分地证明了在过去的30年中制药工业始终在不断地发展。这些发展与西方社会人口老化、先进技术的应用,以及昂贵新药的开发有关,并通过制药工业体现出来。 1991年,世界10个主要国家占世界处方药物市场的82％,其中美国占29％,日本占19％,西德占8％,法国占7％,意大利占7％,英国占3％,西班牙占3％,加拿大占2％,巴西占2％,墨西哥占2％,世界其它地方占18％。 In 1991, the world pharmaceutical industry output exceeded 165.5 billion U.S. dollars, which fully proved that the pharmaceutical industry has been continuously developing in the past 30 years. These developments have been linked to the aging of the population in Western societies, the application of advanced technologies, and the development of expensive new drugs, as embodied in the pharmaceutical industry. In 1991, the world’s 10 major countries accounted for 82% of the world’s prescription drug market, with 29% in the United States, 19% in Japan, 8% in West Germany, 7% in France, 7% in Italy, 3% in Britain and Spain 3%, Canada 2%, Brazil 2%, Mexico 2%, and the rest of the world 18%.