Enterprise-wide decision support applications have received increased attention in the chemical process industry in the last decade. In this paper applications, which have real or potential relevance to the pharmaceutical industry, are reviewed. Specific attention is given to the three key phases in the life cycle of an innovative drug product, namely, product development pipeline management, capacity planning and supply chain management. The status of published research in these domains is reviewed, some gaps in the literature are identified and opportunities for further research effort by the process systems engineering community suggested. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.