Meaning & use
biopharmaceuticals
Last updated
Meanings
nounpluraltechnical
Medicines made from living cells or their parts using biotechnology, rather than made by simple chemical reactions.
Grammar: Almost always plural; the singular 'biopharmaceutical' means one such medicine or the adjective form.
Patterns
- produce biopharmaceuticals
- a maker of biopharmaceuticals
- invest in biopharmaceuticals
The company uses modified bacteria to produce biopharmaceuticals for treating rare diseases.
Insulin made by genetically engineered cells is one of the best-known biopharmaceuticals.
Regulators must approve biopharmaceuticals before they can be sold.
noununcountablebusinesstechnical
The branch of the drug industry that develops and sells such biological medicines.
Grammar: Used like a field or industry name: 'she works in biopharmaceuticals'.
Patterns
- work in biopharmaceuticals
- a career in biopharmaceuticals
After her PhD she moved into biopharmaceuticals.
Biopharmaceuticals attracts huge investment because the products are hard to copy.
Word forms
| singular | biopharmaceutical |
|---|
Common combinations
- the biopharmaceuticals industry
- The biopharmaceuticals industry spends heavily on research.
- develop biopharmaceuticals
- Small firms often develop biopharmaceuticals and license them to big companies.
- a biopharmaceuticals company
- She joined a biopharmaceuticals company in Boston.
- approve biopharmaceuticals
- Agencies approve biopharmaceuticals only after long trials.
- manufacture biopharmaceuticals
- Manufacturing biopharmaceuticals requires strict sterile conditions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- biologics
- Nearly the same meaning and often used interchangeably, though 'biologics' is more common in medical and regulatory writing.
- biological medicines
- A plain descriptive phrase rather than a technical term; it fits general writing better than in a scientific paper.
- drugs
- Much broader; it covers ordinary chemical pills too, so it is less precise here.
Word family
- biopharmaceutical adjective
- Relating to medicines made from living cells.
- pharmaceuticals noun
- Medicines in general, whether made chemically or biologically.
- biotechnology noun
- The science of using living things to make useful products.
Commonly confused: biopharmaceuticals or pharmaceuticals? biopharmaceuticals or biopharming?
biopharmaceuticals vs pharmaceuticals
This is the wider word for all medicines; biopharmaceuticals are only the ones produced from living cells.
biopharmaceuticals vs biopharming
A related but narrower term for growing medicines in plants or animals.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word correctly?
Choose one answer.
The plural noun names a field or class of biological medicines, so 'works in biopharmaceuticals' fits. Option 0 wrongly uses it as an adjective before a noun (the adjective is 'biopharmaceutical'), option 2 treats the plural as a singular countable noun, and option 3 confuses it with plants.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biopharmaceuticals”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.