The launch of the iPad has created new opportunities for pharmaceutical companies. According to estimates by Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com), almost 50 million tablets were in use in the U.S. by the end of 2011.

In the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, tablets have been deployed across a range of applications, from sales representatives using them in their interaction with physicians, to research labs and even production processes, per the research group. The pharmaceutical industry has quickly adopted tablets as a sales tool and a new way to communicate with doctors and consumers. It's estimated that by July 2012, there will be more than 13,000 health related apps available for consumers at Apple's App Store alone.

Every major biopharmaceutical company has developed iPad apps, says Research and Markets. Apps are available for an entire range of activities including helping incontinent patients find a public toilet, educating doctors on drugs, and for reading electronic medical and health records.

According to the research group, almost two-thirds of doctors and physicians in the U.S. use tablet devices, mostly iPads, with 70% of the non-users planning to buy a tablet in the next year. This creates a huge market for pharma firms to leverage the iPad infrastructure as a customer's sales and education tool, according to Research and Markets.