The data: Younger generations’ satisfaction with pharma companies is falling, according to a new YouGov survey. YouGov’s BrandIndex surveyed thousands of US adults over a rolling study period that started in September 2024 and ended earlier this month. YouGov reports net scores from –100 to +100.

• Gen Z's satisfaction with drugmakers fell significantly over the past year (from a net score of 7 in 2024 to 4 in 2025).
• Millennials also showed a similar decline, from 9 to 6.
• Meanwhile, older generations (Gen X, baby boomers, and the silent generation) have low satisfaction scores (ranging from 9 to 14), but their opinions haven't changed.

Driving the trend: Gen Z is generally more distrustful of large corporations than older consumers.

• For pharma specifically, news reports of drugmakers putting profits over patients and anecdotal accounts of people’s difficulty with affording medications have become more prevalent across traditional media and on digital channels like social media.
• Less than half (43%) of Gen Zers believe that pharma companies care about this generation, per a recent Burson survey.

What it matters to pharma: Clinical diagnoses and use of prescription drugs are rising among younger consumers for disease areas such as behavioral health and in categories like GLP-1s.

• Gen Z’s prescribed use of GLP-1s for weight loss increased 177% last year from the year prior, per a March 2025 Evernorth Health Services report.
• Millennials’ utilization of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss grew 146% over the same period.
• 46% of Gen Z consumers have been diagnosed with a mental health condition; anxiety, depression, and ADHD top the list, per a June 2025 Harmony Healthcare IT report. And 34% of Gen Z say they take a prescription medication for their mental health.

Our take: Many drugmakers are missing the opportunity to engage younger consumers, particularly on digital channels where they’re turning to for health information and advice.

• For instance, 38% of Gen Zers say they rely on social media for health and wellness information, per YouGov’s survey.
• Just 22% of older generations, on average, use social media for health advice.