{"id":155444,"date":"2026-04-01T15:32:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T22:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155444"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:32:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T22:32:48","slug":"war-and-drug-dealers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/01\/war-and-drug-dealers\/","title":{"rendered":"War and drug dealers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

War economies don\u2019t just enrich weapons manufacturers. A whole ecosystem benefits: logistics, reconstruction, energy, finance\u2014and yes, pharmaceutical and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Do drug companies profit from war?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes\u2014but indirectly, not in the same obvious way as arms companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They benefit from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Treatment of wounded soldiers and civilians<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Increased demand for:\n
      \n
    • antibiotics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • painkillers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • trauma care drugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • vaccines (especially in conflict zones)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Post-war:\n
        \n
      • rehabilitation drugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • mental health treatments (PTSD, depression)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • disease outbreaks in unstable regions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        However:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Governments and NGOs often control pricing in war zones<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • So profits are less direct and less dramatic than weapons sales<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          2. Biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Here are the global giants (2025\u20132026): \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 United States (dominant player)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Johnson & Johnson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Pfizer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Merck & Co.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • AbbVie<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Eli Lilly and Company<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Bristol Myers Squibb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            \ud83d\udc49 The US dominates due to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • strong patents<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • high drug prices<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • massive R&D investment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udded Switzerland (very powerful for its size)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Roche<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Novartis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                 Switzerland punches above its weight in biotech innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \/ \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea United Kingdom & Europe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • AstraZeneca<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • GSK<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea Germany<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • Bayer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 France<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Sanofi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf0 Denmark<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • Novo Nordisk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                          \n
                        • Takeda Pharmaceutical Company<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                           These companies generate tens of billions annually, with leaders like Merck and Pfizer each making over $50\u201360 billion in drug sales <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          3. Which countries dominate pharma?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                          Top countries by influence:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 United States \u2013 largest and most powerful<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udded Switzerland \u2013 innovation hub<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 UK \u2013 major R&D and vaccines<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea Germany \u2013 strong industrial pharma base<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 France \u2013 large European player<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Japan \u2013 advanced research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                            4. Hidden giant: India <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                            Even though not top by revenue,\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \n
                            • India produces a huge share of the world\u2019s generic drugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • Supplies affordable medicines globally (including war zones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                \n
                              • Western companies = high-profit patented drugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • India = mass production, low-cost supply<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                5. Who REALLY makes money from war (beyond pharma)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                1. Energy companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                  \n
                                • Oil & gas prices surge in conflicts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                  2. Construction & engineering firms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                    \n
                                  • Post-war rebuilding (billions in contracts)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                    3. Logistics & shipping companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                      \n
                                    • Military supply chains<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                      4. Private security contractors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                        \n
                                      • Mercenaries, protection services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                        5. Finance & insurance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                          \n
                                        • War-risk insurance, reconstruction funding<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                          6. Tech & surveillance companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                            \n
                                          • Drones, AI, cyber warfare tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                            Sri Lanka should get ready to be fit from the war<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                            Fast track training of vocational training to train shilled workers to work in redevelopment <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            Jou  with heavy construction engineering firms with construction  equipment to deploy I  was zoned<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            Export doctors and health care walkers to postwar zones <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            Maintain food stocks in Sri Lanka for reexport <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            Regards

                                            Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                            Dr Sarath Obeysekera War economies don\u2019t just enrich weapons manufacturers. A whole ecosystem benefits: logistics, reconstruction, energy, finance\u2014and yes, pharmaceutical and  1. Do drug companies profit from war? Yes\u2014but indirectly, not in the same obvious way as arms companies. They benefit from: However: 2. Biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world Here are the global giants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155445,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155444\/revisions\/155445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}