OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 pandemic had substantial impacts on the pharmaceutical industry in short and long-term; which should be recognized and planned upon to minimize burden. The objective of the current study was to systematically identify the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the pharmaceutical sector.

METHODS: The current brief-communication study, reviewed global and national documents and conducted multiple semi-structured interview’s with health policy-makers. Results were face-validated. Also, external validity was achieved by thick description method. This, enabled the results to be transferable to other settings.

RESULTS: Regulation adjustments, demand variations, development process changes and the movement towards tele-care were acknowledged as the short-term impacts. Also, self-sufficiency throughout the supply chain, ethical dilemma on trials and off-label use of medication, investment and innovation shifts and also changes in the consumption trends were predicted to impact the pharmaceutical sector in the long-term.

CONCLUSIONS: Identification of COVID-19 impacts on the pharmaceutical sector may support decision-makers to plan ahead and reduce the socio-economic burden of the potential challenges.