PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

The pharmaceutical industry is a business sector dedicated to the manufacture, preparation, and marketing of medicinal chemicals for the treatment and prevention of diseases. Some companies in the sector manufacture pharmaceutical chemicals in bulk called primary production, and prepare them for medical use by different methods, collectively known as secondary production.

Among the processes of secondary production, highly automated, we can find the manufacture of dosed drugs such as pills, capsules or sachets for oral administration, solutions for injection, ovules, and suppositories.

This activity affects human health directly, which is why this industry is subject to a large number of laws and regulations that regulate, among others, research, patents, testing, and marketing of drugs.

HOSPITAL SECTOR

The so-called health care industry is managed by health service companies (hospitals, clinics, health centers, clinical laboratories, and others) that, along with their qualified personnel, offer services to meet the needs of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of people.

We recognize two types of health according to the kind of management of these services: public health and private health.

In public health, goods and public services of health are provided by the State. In private health, products and services are financed through private initiatives.

Biosecurity is the application of knowledge, techniques, and equipment to prevent people, laboratories, hospital areas and the environment from exposure to potentially infectious agents or those considered to be of biological risk.

Hospital biosecurity, through scientific and organizational measures, defines the containment conditions under which infectious agents must be manipulated with the objective of confining the biological risk and reducing the exposure to potentially infectious agents of:

• Laboratory personnel and critical hospital areas.
• staff from non-critical areas
• patients and the general public, and waste material
• environment

CHEMICAL SECTOR

The chemical industry deals with the extraction and processing of raw materials, both natural and synthetic, and their transformation into other substances with characteristics different from those they initially had. The industry’s goal is to meet the needs of people and to improve their quality of life.

The primary objective of the chemical industry is making a product of good quality with a low production cost while causing a little impact on the environment.

Raw materials involved in the production of these products are extracted from nature, and consumer goods are manufactured using them. We can classify raw materials according to their origin: animal, vegetable or mineral.

There are two types of chemical industry:

• Basic chemical industry: it uses primary raw materials, and intermediate products are elaborated that can also serve as raw material for other industries.
• Chemical processing industries: They are intended for the direct consumption of people. They use products manufactured by the basic chemical industries.

We can also talk about fine chemistry, which includes numerous specialized industries (medicines, fertilizers, pesticides, colorants, etc.).

VETERINARY SECTOR

Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, disorders and injuries in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is broad, covering all species, both domestic and wild.

The professionals practicing this science may be called veterinarians, veterinarian doctors or veterinary surgeons. In some Latin American countries, the professional dedicated to agricultural productivity is known as Zoological Technician. The expert technician of this specialty is called a veterinary technician or veterinary nurse.

Among the functions performed by a veterinarian, we can stand out the diagnosis and treatment of animal pathologies, the improvement of animal performance, productive livestock, and surveillance in the manufacturing and put into circulation and state of food products of animal origin destined for human consumption (Food Science). These professionals can also devote themselves to epidemiology and public health, research or teaching.

COSMETIC / SANITARY SECTOR

Cosmetics are products that are used for body hygiene or to improve the appearance, especially of the face. They are usually mixtures of chemical compounds. Some derive from natural sources, but most are synthetic.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the cosmetics sector, defines them as “substances intended to be applied to the human body to clean, beautify or alter the appearance without affecting the structure of the body or its functions.” This broad definition also includes any material intended for use as the components of cosmetic products.

The FDA specifically excludes soap out of this category.

European Regulation 1223/2009 defines cosmetic products as: “any substance or mixture intended to be put in contact with the superficial parts of the human body (epidermis, hair and capillary system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with teeth and the oral mucous membranes, with the exclusive or main purpose of cleaning, perfuming, protecting or keeping them in good condition, as well as, modifying their appearance or correcting any body odors”. The term cosmetic includes: makeup, deodorants, shampoos or shower gels, among others

This regulation also established everything that is not considered a cosmetic. This category contains products that aim to cure any disease and those that can be ingested, inhaled or injected into the human body.

Cosmetics should only be applied topically for the purposes mentioned above.