What makes the pharma industry tick?

I am a recent Neuroscience graduate looking to get into R&D in the pharma industry. When speaking with a recruiter he said that before apply for jobs / going to interviews I need to know "what makes that industry tick".

What does this mean to you?

What are the core processes driving the industry?

What drives the R&D sector?

I want to engage with the industry and build my knowledge about its inner workings. Where are the best news sources / scientific journals etc. to keep up to date and find out more?

I feel very much on the outside looking in and quite frankly that I don't know a whole lot about the field I am trying to enter into.