2017 RANKING & REVIEWS
TOP RANKING BEST PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
AdvisoryHQ’s Guide to the World’s Largest Pharmaceutical Companies
When it comes to your medications, do you know which major pharmaceutical companies are responsible for manufacturing them?
The leading pharmaceutical companies are constantly working toward new product development and marketing to maintain a competitive edge on the market.
The most popular prescription and over-the-counter medications have to come from somewhere. Knowing their background and the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies behind these inventions is important for your education and understanding.
Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Pharmaceutical Companies
The statistics regarding which of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies generated the most revenue last year are in. You can put your knowledge of the largest pharmaceutical companies to the test by taking another look at our ranking of pharmaceutical companies.
Find out key information including their most popular products, annual revenue, and company history in our pharmaceutical companies ranking below. You’ll know more about where your prescriptions come from than you ever did before.
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AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Pharmaceutical Companies
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the companies below to go directly to the detailed review section for that pharmaceutical company):
Top 6 Best Pharmaceutical Companies | Brief Comparison & Ranking
Top Pharmaceutical Companies | 2016 Sales | Areas of Research |
| Bayer | $51.63 billion |
|
| Johnson & Johnson | $33.5 billion |
|
| Merck & Co. | $39.8 billion |
|
| Novartis | $48.5 billion |
|
| Pfizer | $52.8 billion |
|
| Roche | CHF 39.1 billion |
|
Table: Top 6 Best Largest Pharmaceutical Companies | Above list is sorted alphabetically
What Is Big Pharma?
Those who have done some research into the healthcare industry have likely heard people tossing around the words “big pharma.” Do you know how it could possibly pertain to the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies?
The simplest way to look at big pharma is to look at the prime examples of companies that comprise this term, used mostly for investment purposes. Big pharma is typically considered to be the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies based on their value in comparison to the rest of the marketplace.
The largest pharmaceutical companies are often considered to be the fifteen top pharmaceutical companies that are publicly traded. There are no hard and fast rules for which of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies comprise the “big pharma” umbrella. It can vary depending on any particular investor’s definition and opinion.
According to the Motley Fool, there are a few considerations that qualify the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies as a part of the big pharma picture. The first and most significant consideration for these major pharmaceutical companies is their revenue.
Their drugs tend to have the highest profit margins (19%) when you look at a pharmaceutical companies ranking. Because they have more profit to play with, these best pharmaceutical companies can spend more money on advertising, research, and development to stay at the top of the field as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies.
The other major consideration is the shareholder yield, which tends to be higher than average when you consider other sectors.
The Conservative Review notes that it does cost a significant amount, even for the best pharmaceutical companies, to produce new developments for the market.
This could be a factor in the drug costs set by the largest pharmaceutical companies. The Federal Drug Administration states that it takes twelve years and $350 million to bring new drugs into the marketplace.
With all of the chatter surrounding big pharma showing up in politics and the news as of late, it’s important to understand just what could be at stake. Which are the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies that could be affected by the changes made to the way we purchase and produce the drugs most commonly used in the United States?
Find out more about the six largest pharmaceutical companies around the globe to uncover exactly where your prescriptions come from.
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AdvisoryHQ’s Selection Methodology
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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Pharmaceutical Companies
Below, please find the detailed review of each company on our list of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these leading pharmaceutical companies to score so highly in our selection ranking
Bayer Review
It should come as no surprise that Bayer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Most consumers can easily picture their products on the shelf of their local drugstore, the company name emblazoned on the bottle. What many consumers don’t realize is just how large of a player Bayer is among major pharmaceutical companies.
The large pharmaceutical companies run by Bayer take up a total of five campuses around the globe. Two of them are stationed in Germany, with a single location each in the Bay Area of California, Norway, and Finland.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
Find out more of how Bayer was considered one of the top pharmaceutical companies for our pharmaceutical companies ranking that all consumers should be aware of.
Areas of Research
Each of the major pharmaceutical companies maintains a strict area of focus for their research and development. Bayer is no exception with five identified key areas for their revenue to be reinvested into new product development. See the list below to find out the major areas where Bayer is developing products:
- Cardiovascular
- Hemophilia
- Ophthalmology
- Oncology
- Gynecology
As it currently stands, Bayer has several new drugs in the pipeline that are promising for consumers. Between all three phases of the development pipeline, they have a total of 51 new drugs that are being tested for their effectiveness in clinical trials.
Revenue
The most recent year was another success for this pharmaceutical company, boasting a 3.5% increase on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis. Net income was up a total of 10.2% overall with sales that hit $51.63 billion for 2016.
Research and development cost these largest pharmaceutical companies an estimated €4.7 billion.
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Johnson & Johnson Review
Many consumers may already recognize the Johnson & Johnson brand from a slew of household products, but they are also one of the leading pharmaceutical companies today.
Around for more than a century, Johnson & Johnson is certainly well-established compared to new pharmaceutical companies. Johnson & Johnson partners with a large number of suppliers to make their developments possible.
They have multiple suppliers, but the branch of their best pharmaceutical companies is better known as Janssen. In order to find more information regarding their products, clinical trials, and other key details, you must search through the information provided by this arm of their major pharmaceutical companies.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
Understand the intricacies of these top pharmaceutical companies in the detailed breakdown and review below.
Areas of Research
Johnson & Johnson maintains a clear direction for the prescriptions and clinical trials that they take on at these biggest pharmaceutical companies. Much like Bayer, they also take a closer look at cardiovascular health, but they also have five different areas of study:
- Metabolic diseases
- Immunology
- Infectious diseases and vaccines
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
Their research and development status can be found through Janssen, the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson. According to their development pipeline, they do have significantly fewer drugs currently being tested for effectiveness in clinical trials.
There are currently fifteen products in various stages of clinical trials with nine planned filings for the next two years.
Revenue
How can you tell that Johnson & Johnson is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies on the market today? Their numbers really do speak volumes about their place within the market.
While their business is broken into several segments, their 2016 results came in with a substantial increase over their previous years’ sales in pharmaceuticals. A 6.5% increase gave them total worldwide sales of $33.5 billion for the year in this department.
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Merck & Co. Review
While Merck and Co. is definitely one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally, they also take a unique approach to other industries. Many consumers are unaware of the fact that Merck not only manufactures pharmaceuticals for humans, but also for animal health.
Their headquarters is located in New Jersey but they have operations up and running in more than 140 different countries. Globally, they are perhaps better recognized under the name MSD, with Merck being used in the United States and Canada only. Merck and Co. is the title that is used on the New York Stock Exchange as well.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
Find out more about how Merck made our ranking of pharmaceutical companies in the detailed review section that follows.
Areas of Research
The areas that Merck chooses to focus on as one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies are a huge contributing factor to what allows them to be one of the best pharmaceutical companies. They take a unique stance on which research and development issues are prominent in today’s healthcare sector.
While some of these will see some overlap with the other best pharmaceutical companies, many are unique to the Merck brand:
- Oncology
- Hepatitis C
- Diabetes
- Infectious diseases
- Vaccines
- Alzheimer’s
In their product pipeline are forty unique products aimed at curing or lessening the symptoms for any number of issues. From asthma and cancer products to cures for the common cough, their top pharmaceutical companies have a lot to offer society. Many are in advanced trial stages with 24 drugs in phase three and four currently under review.
Revenue
The overall sales generated by Merck for the 2016 year are the biggest determining factor in what allowed us to qualify them as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Their revenue reached $39.8 billion across all of their locations in the previous year.
Their research and development expense was relatively high for 2016 as well. This figure demonstrates how much of their resources are being reinvested in the development and testing of additional products for the healthcare sector. Last year, they spent $6.8 billion on research and development (excluding restructuring and mergers).
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Novartis Review
While the Novartis name sound like one of the new pharmaceutical companies (created in 1996), it was founded out of the merger of two of the other well-known and biggest pharmaceutical companies. Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz can claim more than 250 years in business with an odd start for these leading pharmaceutical companies.
Back in the day, they were first responsible for making synthetic fabric dyes before they became one of the top pharmaceutical companies on the market. Since that time, this Switzerland-based company has worked to discover new ways to improve and extend lives in a number of areas.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
Find out more information on Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, in the review section below. They’re included on our ranking of pharmaceutical companies for more than just their unique beginnings.
Areas of Research
Novartis qualifies as one of the top pharmaceutical companies in part because of their extensive and broad area of research. Compared to the other largest pharmaceutical companies included on our ranking, Novartis has significantly more areas where they are committed to finding solutions for unmet needs:
- Immuno-oncology and oncology
- Neuroscience
- Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
- Autoimmunity, transplantation, and inflammatory disease
- Infectious diseases
- Musculoskeletal diseases
- Ophthalmology
- Respiratory diseases
Within their areas of study, Novartis is recognized as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies for its extensive listing of upcoming products in their pipeline. Between 2017 and 2021, they have more than fifty different drugs and products listed for their clinical trials.
According to this top pharmaceutical company, they have over 200 projects in their clinical development stages as well.
Revenue
The past year didn’t bring the highest sales that this pick among the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies has ever seen. In fact, it was the lowest net sales year out of the last five years where numbers were readily available on their year-end performance review. Their total sales accounted for $48.5 billion for the 2016 year.
On the other hand, they had some positive features to mention as well for this past year that can potentially make up for the lack of sales. These largest pharmaceutical companies devoted more money to research and development and less money to their operating income than they have in years past.
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Pfizer Review
It’s fairly likely that you’ve seen plenty of advertisements and commercials for the products offered by Pfizer, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies on today’s market. They are responsible for top medications and solutions, including EpiPen®, Lipitor®, Lyrica®, and Zoloft®.
For more than 150 years, Pfizer has maintained a prominent position within the pharmaceutical industry with its development, research, and overall revenue.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
To see specifically where Pfizer has strengths within the community, see the detailed review and breakdown in the section below.
Areas of Research
Pfizer is one of the best pharmaceutical companies for their extensive areas of prominent research. While many of their therapeutic areas do overlap with the other top pharmaceutical companies, some of them are completely unique as well. Their scientists work hard to come up with solutions for consumers who struggle in any one of their six primary areas:
- Immunology and inflammation
- Cardiovascular and metabolic disorders
- Vaccines
- Rare diseases
- Neuroscience and pain
- Oncology
They state that the pipeline for their best pharmaceutical companies is more robust than many others when you look at its top competitors. From phase one trials all the way to registration, they have 23 products being tested for the oncology development program alone as of October 2015.
Revenue
When it comes to income for the past year, Pfizer is definitely one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Their full-year revenue for 2016 came in at an incredible $52.8 billion with an 11% operational growth.
It should be noted that the overall revenues from these leading pharmaceutical companies do reflect various time periods with the other major pharmaceutical companies they acquired over the course of the year.
While it does not demonstrate a full-year revenue with all of these companies (including Anacor and Medivation), it will reflect some of these numbers.
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Roche Review
Another one of the top pharmaceutical companies that is located in Switzerland, Roche has long been known for creating innovative solutions to consumer needs in the healthcare sector. More than half of all their research projects are developed alongside diagnostics, which is part of what has made them one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the market.
Not only are they recognized as a part of the big pharma umbrella, but they also have an extensive presence in the biotech field. They rated number one in the market with more than 17 different biopharmaceuticals available to consumers for targeted therapies.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Pharmaceutical Companies
The detailed review of Roche for our ranking of pharmaceutical companies is listed below for additional information on the research and revenue.
Areas of Research
For consumers who want to understand more of what makes Roche one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, it may be best understood through their areas of research. They aim to “combat the world’s hardest-to-treat diseases” with their vast research focus:
- Oncology
- Neuroscience
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
- Ophthalmology
- Hematology and Hemophilia
- Respiratory
Their pharma pipeline is one of the largest of all the best pharmaceutical companies included in our list of large pharmaceutical companies. There are well over one hundred products scattered throughout the three phases of testing for an extremely extensive research and development department.
Key testing is being done for each area of study, but oncology currently has the most products.
Revenue
The total revenue for everything produced by the Roche largest pharmaceutical company is relatively impressive. As a whole, the group generated CHF 50.6 billion for the 2016 year. Of course, this should be broken down to show that only CHF 39.1 billion was from pharmaceutical sales.
The sales were driven primarily by cancer medicines, though they also had four successful new products and five therapy breakthroughs this past year. They claim to have been one of the top ten investors in research and development across the industry as well.
Conclusion—Top 6 Best Pharmaceutical Companies
As consumers, we should be aware of where our medicines come from. The world’s largest pharmaceutical companies each have a different focus and area of research and development that we should be aware of.
Particularly for investors who are considering purchasing stock in the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, it’s critical to know where the future is taking them.
The research and development funds of these large pharmaceutical companies can help to predict how they will fare in the future. Even new pharmaceutical companies can give some indicator toward their future success by reflecting where their funds are spent.
Any of the major pharmaceutical companies is likely to be transparent with their current product line-up and the stages of their clinical trials. Keep in mind what each of these pharmaceutical companies is most recognized for (and where their sales are at) before making the decision to invest in any of the big pharmaceutical companies.
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