The top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world are contributing to exponential growth and driving critical innovation for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.
How much is the pharmaceutical industry worth? The global pharmaceutical industry was worth $934.8 billion in 2017 and will reach $1170 billion in 2021, growing at 5.8%. Current estimates that global pharma spending will exceed USD 1.5 trillion by 2023. This fact sheet is to breakdown the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue as of 2020 that are the key drivers of this stellar growth. Ultimately the goal is to assist business professionals, investors, and our readers that are interested in gaining insights into the global pharmaceutical industry including:
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Who are the top pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue as of 2020? The following is a list of largest pharmaceutical companies ranked by their revenue figures in USD billion.
Rank | Company | Revenue (USD billions) | Country |
1 | Johnson & Johnson | 82.06 | USA |
2 | Hoffmann-La Roche | 63.85 | Switzerland |
3 | Pfizer | 51.75 | USA |
4 | Bayer | 48.02 | Germany |
5 | Novartis | 47.45 | Switzerland |
6 | Merck & Co. | 46.84 | USA |
7 | GlaxoSmithKline | 43.92 | United Kingdom |
8 | Sanofi | 39.28 | France |
9 | AbbVie | 33.27 | USA |
10 | Abbott Laboratories | 31.9 | USA |
Who is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world by revenue in 2020? Johnson & Johnson is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world in 2020, with revenues of USD 82.06 billion — the number ranking pharma company by sales. Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals and also consumer packaged goods. Johnson & Johnson’s current headquarters are in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, and the company operates over 250 subsidiaries in over 60 countries.
Some of the most popular consumer products and brands under Johnson & Johnson are Tylenol, Band-Aid, Neutrogena, Johnson’s baby products, etc. Johnson & Johnson’s specialty is in research and development, medical device products, and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products and the consumer level. Johnson & Johnson has held it’s number 1 ranking in sales among the top biotech companies since 2012.
Number 2 on this list of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world is Hoffmann-La Roche, a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. The company is known for controlling many of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies including American biotechnology company Genentech, Japanese biotechnology company Chugai Pharmaceuticals, as well as US-based Ventana.
Roche was founded in 1896 with its current headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Roche brought in revenues of USD 63.85 billion last year and remains one of the largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue in the world ranking 2nd behind Johnson & Johnson for 3 years in a row.
Pfizer is 3rd on this list of the top pharmaceutical companies by revenue in 2020. An American multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York City, Pfizer develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of medical disciplines, including immunology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, and neurology.
In 2019, Pfizer brought in annual revenues of USD 51.75 billion and has been the 3rd ranked pharmaceutical company by revenue for the past 4 years, behind only Roche and Johnson & Johnson. The company operates through two divisions: Pfizer Innovative Health (IH) and Pfizer Essential Health (EH) business segments.
Bayer ranks 4th on BizVibe’s list of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue in 2020. The German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company is a developer and manufacturer of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals; consumer healthcare products; agricultural chemicals, seeds, and biotechnology products. In 2019, Bayer brought in revenues of USD 48.02 billion and remains the largest pharmaceutical company in Germany.
The 2nd Swiss company on this list of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue is Novartis, the Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is known for manufacturing many well-known drugs including clozapine (Clozaril), diclofenac (Voltaren), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valsartan (Diovan), imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec), cyclosporine (Neoral/Sandimmune), letrozole (Femara), methylphenidate (Ritalin), terbinafine (Lamisil), deferasirox (Exjade), and many others. Diovan, to treat hypertension and Gleevec/Glivec, the oncology leukemia drug are both Novartis’ best sellers in the global market, accounting for a good chunk of its pharmaceutical sales.
In addition to its stellar sales figures, Novartis is also one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world ranked by market capitalization.
Merck & Co. ranks 6th on BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world in 2020. Merck & Co. is a leading American multinational pharmaceutical company and one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey. The company is known for providing prescription medicines, vaccines, biologics and animal health products. Merck & Co. also spends considerably on R&D for its key drug KEYTRUDA®.
Ranking 7th on BizVibe’s list of largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue is GlaxoSmithKline, a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Brentford, London that was founded in 2000 stemming from a merger between Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company — often referred to as GSK — brought in revenues of USD 43.92 billion last year and remains one of the most innovative among the top pharmaceutical companies in the world.
8th on BizVibe’s list of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue is Sanofi, the French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France. Sanofi is especially well-know for engaging in R&D, manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs principally in the prescription market, and the development of over-the-counter medication.
In 2019, Sanofi brought in annual revenues of USD 39.28 billion, making it the largest pharmaceutical company in France and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by market capitalization as well.
AbbVie is a US-based publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company founded in 2013 in Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA. The company generated revenues of USD 33.27 billion in 2019 and is known for R&D and developing and manufacturer some of the top pharmaceutical products including AndroGel® (testosterone gel), Depakote® (divalproex sodium) tablets, DUOPA (carbidopa/levodopa enteral suspension), and many more.
Rounding out BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world in 2020 is the American medical devices and health care company with headquarters in the Abbott Park Business Center in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Abbot Laboratories sells medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic medicines, and nutritional products. In 2019, Abbot Laboratories brought in annual revenues of USD 31.9 billion — making one of the highest revenue pharmaceutical companies in the world.
This is BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world in 2020 by revenue. These companies are changing the way businesses are pushing the boundaries in medicine and are leading the pharmaceutical industry to new heights.
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The following is BizVibe’s ranking of the top 30 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue figures as of 2020. All numbers are measured in USD billions.
Rank | Company | Revenue (USD billions) | Country |
1 | Johnson & Johnson | 82.06 | USA |
2 | Hoffmann-La Roche | 63.85 | Switzerland |
3 | Pfizer | 51.75 | USA |
4 | Bayer | 48.02 | Germany |
5 | Novartis | 47.45 | Switzerland |
6 | Merck & Co. | 46.84 | USA |
7 | GlaxoSmithKline | 43.92 | United Kingdom |
8 | Sanofi | 39.28 | France |
9 | AbbVie | 33.27 | USA |
10 | Abbott Laboratories | 31.9 | USA |
11 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | 26.15 | USA |
12 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 25.54 | USA |
13 | AstraZeneca | 24.38 | UK |
14 | Amgen | 23.4 | USA |
15 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | 22.94 | Japan |
16 | Gilead Sciences | 22.45 | USA |
17 | Eli Lilly & Co | 22.32 | USA |
18 | Boehringer Ingelheim | 19.48 | Germany |
19 | Novo Nordisk | 18.3 | Denmark |
20 | Merck Group | 18.25 | Germany |
21 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | 16.89 | Israel/USA |
22 | Allergan plc | 16.09 | Ireland |
23 | Danaher Corporation | 15.07 | USA |
24 | Stryker Corporation | 14.9 | USA |
25 | Biogen | 14.38 | USA |
26 | Mylan | 11.5 | USA |
27 | Boston Scientific | 10.65 | USA |
28 | Astellas Pharma | 8.98 | Japan |
29 | Labcorp | 8.6 | USA |
30 | Baxter International | 8.28 | USA |
What’s the future of the pharmaceutical; industry? The industry is going through a large phase of product and business innovation. Several big pharma companies are acquiring their drugs by purchasing smaller companies, while a record number of drugs passed regulatory approval last year. Research is moving from labs to computers while sales of pharmaceutical products continue to soar at a rapid rate. Expect the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies to continue dominating the industry and leading to a future of high profitability and products that are beneficial to all of us.
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