Pharmaceuticalization of Society (2025)

It is hard to think of any social scientist in the world who has done more sustained work in the field of ‘pharmaceuticals and society’ in research, teaching and public communication. In this landmark field-defining book, John Abraham probes deeply into the growth and nature of: the pharmaceutical industry; pharmaceutical innovation; patents and intellectual property rights; pharmaceutical markets; pharmaceutical regulation; medicalization; the medical-industrial complex; pharmaceutical promotion; patient activism; the patient-industrial complex; neo-liberal governance; pharmaceutical pricing; cost-effectivess assessment of pharmaceuticals; financialization of the pharmaceutical industry; globalization and pharmaceutical dependency; international governance and regulatory science of pharmaceuticals. In this ambitious book, Abraham critically evaluated these processes in relation to the interests of the stakeholders involved and the wider interests of society and public health. He makes proposals about how the world’s pharmaceutical systems should be better aligned with public health.