'pro-pharmaceutical' originates from Latin prefix 'pro' (meaning 'for') combined with 'pharmaceutical', which ultimately comes from Greek 'pharmakeutikos' via Late Latin 'pharmaceuticus'.

'pro-' (Latin, 'for') was attached to the modern English adjective 'pharmaceutical' (from Greek 'pharmakeutikos' → Late Latin 'pharmaceuticus' → French 'pharmaceutique' → English 'pharmaceutical') to form the hyphenated compound 'pro-pharmaceutical' in recent English usage.

The components originally meant 'for' and 'relating to drugs/medicine'; together the compound has come to mean 'supportive of pharmaceutical products or the pharmaceutical industry' in contemporary usage.