The work examines the social conditions of use for pharmaceuticals. This primarily refers to active ingredient-based, industrially manufactured tablets, which may seem self-evident to us today. However, a sociological perspective on the historical transformation of pharmaceuticals reveals how contingent and conditional this understanding is—along with the significance of the pharmacist, the relationship between pharmacy and medicine, and the demands for regulation. Only by understanding this shift towards scientifically legitimized finished pharmaceuticals can we make informed assessments of current developments and challenges in the pharmaceutical and pharmacy sectors. The study discusses a potential liberalization of the pharmaceutical market for health policy and the pharmacy profession. For the sociology of knowledge, professions, and economics, insights result from this analysis.