In this article we will tell you about the most popular, largest and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the world
Pharmaceuticals is perhaps the only industry in which the coronavirus pandemic has become a catalyst for market processes. On the one hand, pharmaceutical companies faced restrictions, like any other Business, and had to quickly rebuild. On the other hand, the demand for anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs has increased dramatically, it was necessary to increase production volumes in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines.
The leaders of the pharmaceutical market have successfully coped with the task. The LinDeal team has compiled a list of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world that ended 2021 with the highest profit.
Fifteen of the largest and richest
The total turnover of the pharmaceutical industry — which is 2,300 of the world’s largest manufacturers — reached $ 1.44 trillion, of which $ 555 billion was in the United States. Other major markets include Japanese, German, Chinese, French, Swiss and British.
In terms of revenue for 2021 , the places in the rating were distributed as follows*:
Johnson & Johnson (USA, New Brunswick) — $93.78 billion;
Pfizer (USA, New York) — $ 81.29 billion;
Sinopharm (China, Beijing) — $ 77.28 billion;
Roche Holding (Switzerland, Basel) — $69.01 billion;
AbbVie (USA, Chicago) — $56.20 billion;
Novartis (Switzerland, Basel) — $52.88 billion;
Bayer (Germany, Leverkusen) — $50.09 billion;
Merck & Co. (USA, New Jersey) — $48.70 billion;
Bristol Myers Squibb (USA, New York) — $46.39 billion;
GlaxoSmithKline (United Kingdom, Brentford) — $46.10 billion;
Sanofi (France, Paris) — $44.52 billion;
Abbott Laboratories (USA, Illinois) — $43.08 billion;
AstraZeneca (UK, Cambridge) — $37.42 billion;
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (China, Shanghai) — $29.43 billion;
Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan, Tokyo) — $29.10 billion.
*Market capitalization is shown as of December 31, 2021 based on the financial statements of pharmaceutical companies, data from Reuters and The Pharma 1000: Top Global Pharmaceutical Company Report.
The leaders are unlikely to change in the coming years
The world market leadership is held by the USA: the rating data confirm this. MarketWatch analytical agency predicts the country to retain the championship in the coming years. Experts estimate the annual growth of the American pharma market by 3-6% annually. In 2024, it will reach $635 billion.
The growth of an average of 5% per year will affect the entire global industry. By 2024, the agency estimates its growth at $300-400 billion. The total revenue of the companies will reach $1.5-1.6 trillion per year. MarketWatch analysts attribute the positive dynamics to an increase in the volume of sales of products in general and the introduction of innovative medicines to the market, including vaccines against coronavirus infection.
The financiers unanimously put China in second place. They estimated the pharmaceutical market of this country at $142 billion and estimated its annual growth at 5-8%. If the forecasts come true, then in two years the volume of sales of medicines and vaccines in China will reach $190-195 billion.
MarketWatch believes that the Western European market will also demonstrate positive dynamics. Its growth is estimated at 3-6% per year. Cumulative sales figures will reach $210-240 billion within two years.
As for the leaders, it is unlikely that drastic changes in the current rating should be expected in the five-year perspective.
Johnson & Johnson is named after the founding brothers: Robert Wood, James Wood and Edward Meade Johnson. In 1886, they began to produce plasters and dressings, and seven years later they added baby powder to the range. The manufacturer was the first to sterilize bandages and cotton wool with steam and hot air, which made its products popular.
Today, Johnson & Johnson is an American holding company with 265 subsidiaries in 60 countries around the world. Medicines, medical products and hygiene products of the brand are sold in 175 countries around the world. The corporation receives more than 55% of its revenue from the production and sale of medicines.
J&J coronavirus vaccine, drugs “Prezista” for HIV infection, “Zitiga” for the treatment of prostate cancer, cough syrup Dr. MOM, throat spray “Hexoral”, gum gel “Metrogil Denta”, eye drops “Visin”, nicotine addiction pills Nicorette, remedies Pepcid acid reflux is a world—famous development of the corporation.
Johnson & Johnson has been repeatedly accused of concealing side effects, unfair advertising of opioid group analgesics. Last time, the Court ordered the company to pay $8 billion in compensation to the victim of side effects.
Pfizer
The name of this American multinational company is associated with the production of the coronavirus vaccine of the same name, but few people know that Pfizer has developed lipitor (atorvastatin), the world’s most popular drug for lowering cholesterol levels in the blood. In 24 years of its sales, the manufacturer earned $ 125 billion.
The famous “Viagra” is another high—profile Pfizer development. It was approved for clinical use in April 1998. The appearance of sildenafil citrate (the official name of the drug) on the pharmacological market marked the beginning of a new era of sexual medicine.
The history of Pfizer began in Brooklyn in 1849, when German Americans Charles Feiser and Charles Erhardt established the production of the antiparasitic agent Santonin. In 1880, the partners established the production of citric acid — it gave an impetus to business development. The partners acquired a laboratory and a factory in the property, expanded the range.
Today, more than 100 Pfizer drugs of urological, hematological, neurogolic, vascular, endocrine profile, antibiotics and vitamins are presented on the CIS market.
Sinopharm Company
The Chinese national pharmaceutical group Sinopharm is one of the three largest manufacturers of medicines in China. It owns 15 brands, 6 companies and 1,100 subsidiaries.
Sinopharm reports directly to the State Commission for Supervision and Asset Management. The corporation produces psychotropic, oncological, respiratory, cardiovascular medicines. Four of them are recognized as the national intangible cultural heritage of the country. Some species are approved by the US FDA, EU regulators and WHO.
The pharmaceutical group ranks sixth in the ranking of the world’s largest manufacturers of vaccines. In the domestic market, it accounts for more than 80% of the drugs used in the immunization program of the population. The Sinopharm vaccine has become the first Chinese Covid-19 vaccine approved by WHO for emergency use. Experts of the organization recognized it as safe and effective.
The chairman of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, Alejandro Cravioto, said that experts had received “sufficient evidence of the safety and effectiveness” of the Chinese development. According to the results of clinical trials, the number of severe and symptomatic coronavirus diseases decreased by 78.1% after its use. In 78.7% of cases, hospitalization was avoided.
Roche Holding
The international holding is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of antiviral and biotechnological medicines. The basis of Roche is the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, the group also includes the Japanese firm Chugai and the American Foundation Medicine.
Hoffmann-La Roche was founded in Basel in 1896 and named after the founder Fritz Hoffmann and the maiden name of his wife Adele La Roche. After a few years of operation, the pharmaceutical company was on the verge of bankruptcy. She was saved from the crisis by the successful developments of Emil Barella, an employee of the company: a cough remedy “Tiokal” and a cardiotonic “Digalen”.
In 1905, the company opened a representative office in America, and a few months later began selling products on four continents. The most popular medicines of the holding are the sedative Librium, released in 1960, and Valium, which appeared on the market in 1963. By 1971, more than 500,000 people were receiving these funds. Their sale brought the company over $2 billion.
Worldwide fame came to the manufacturer when the drug “Tamiflu” for influenza appeared on the market. From April to November 2009, when the swine flu epidemic was raging in the world, its sales increased 10 times and exceeded $1 billion.
At the same time, the US Drug Administration (FDA) stated that the manufacturer unreasonably claims that Tamiflu reduces the severity of the flu and prevents complications and death of the disease. Studies conducted in Japan have confirmed the high risks of taking the drug for children. Under pressure from the FDA, the manufacturer made changes to the annotation to it.
AbbVie
The AbbVie biopharmacological company was founded in the USA in 2012 and specializes in the development and production of medicines for hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease, HIV infection, rheumatoid arthritis. The main production is concentrated in the USA, but there are workshops in Italy, Germany, France, Singapore.
In 2019, AbbVie acquired Allergan, a company specializing in the production of cosmetic botox. The transaction amount was $63 billion. In three years of drug sales, the pharmaceutical company earned $4.68 billion.
The best—selling product in her catalog is Humira. It is developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Its sales brought AbbVie $20.69 billion. Soon patent protection of this drug ends, but the corporation’s scientists are actively working on two new drugs: Skyrizi for the treatment of psoriasis and Rinvoq for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Sales of each have already brought the manufacturer more than $ 3 billion. The financial potential of new drugs pushes the pharmaceutical company to increase budgets for their promotion.
Novartis
One of the largest multinational companies in the global pharmaceutical market appeared in March 1996 after the merger of Sandoz and Ciba‑Geigy. The headquarters of Novartis is located in Switzerland, representative offices and branches operate in 140 countries.
Novartis Group includes six business divisions:
Pharma develops innovative prescription drugs.
Alcon produces products for vision.
Sandoz specializes in the manufacture of high-quality generics.
OTC develops over-the-counter medications.
Vaccines and Diagnostics produces vaccines and test systems.
Novartis developments have made it possible to make serious progress in the treatment of severe pathologies. In 1982, the company released Sandimmun, a drug prescribed to patients after organ transplantation.
The creation of the drug “Glivek” was a breakthrough in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. The manufacturer received an award for it in 2002. But the most high-profile development of the company was Zolgensma. This gene therapy drug is intended for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. Today it is the most expensive medicine in the world — one injection costs more than $ 2 million.
Bayer
The German corporation was founded in 1863 and first produced paints. Synthetic purple dye — developed by Bayer. Today it is one of the largest players in the global pharmaceutical market: 30% of its products are sold in the USA, another 50% are on the markets of Germany and China.
The company’s first pharmaceutical breakthrough was the release of acetylsalicylic acid. In 1899, Bayer registered the trademark “Aspirin”, under which it sold analgesic and anticoagulant all over the world.
Heroin is also a corporate discovery. It was marketed as a cough remedy under the Bayer trademark until the First World War.
In the list of medicines of the company there are also means to control the level of cholesterol in the blood. The company has been producing one of them, Baycol, since 1997, but on August 8, 2001 announced that it was ceasing to produce it. The reason for this decision was a large number of side effects: 52 deaths were associated with this drug. Patients taking Baycol developed acute skeletal muscle necrosis and renal failure.
Merck & Co.
The history of this company began in 1668, when Jacob Friedrich Merck bought a pharmacy in Darmstadt, Germany. A century and a half later, his descendant Heinrich Emanuel Merck headed the family business and engaged in the mass production of alkaloids. A few years later, Merck & Co. became the world’s largest supplier of morphine, cocaine, codeine.
Merck & Co. successfully develops medicines for malignant tumors, hepatitis C, HIV and other infectious diseases. A well-developed network of laboratories, investments in research provided the pharmaceutical giant with leadership in the number of new drugs. Merck releases an average of 50- 60 new drugs annually.
In 2021 , the main profit of the company was brought by the following drugs:
Immunomodulator for the treatment of melanoma Keytruda. The manufacturer received $17.2 billion from sales.
The vaccine against several types of human papillomavirus Gardasil — $5.67 billion.
Medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes Januvia. Its total sales exceeded $5.3 billion. It was popular with patients, as it did not lead to weight gain and hypoglycemia as analogues.
Bristol Myers Squibb
The American company has been operating since 1887 and is named after the surnames of two founders — William Bristol and John Myers. The first success was brought to her by the release of laxatives and cough syrup. In the 40s, Bristol Myers Squibb started producing penicillin, which made a good profit.
In the mid-70s, the company focused on research and development of anticancer drugs, and in parallel continued to produce over-the-counter products. Now about 80% of the products produced by Bristol-Myers are intended for the treatment of oncological diseases. It is they who bring the main income to the manufacturer.
The best- selling drugs by the end of 2021 were:
Revlimid, an immunomodulator prescribed for myeloma, breast cancer and other oncological diseases, brought the manufacturer $12.8 billion.
“Eliquis” is an anticoagulant, prescribed to prevent thrombosis, pulmonary embolism. Successfully sold worldwide and has already brought the manufacturer a profit of $ 10.8 billion
Opdivo is an antitumor drug prescribed in targeted therapy for melanoma, lung cancer. Its sales amounted to $7.5 billion.
Bristol Myers Squibb also received billions of dollars in profits from sales of other antitumor drugs: “Pomalist/Imnovid”, “Sprycel”, “Yervoy”, “Abraxan”.
GlaxoSmithKline
The British company has been operating in the global pharmaceutical market since 2000. It was formed as a result of the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The main production is concentrated in the UK, Ireland, America and Singapore.
GlaxoSmithKline made the world talk about itself when it developed the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S. In July 2015, it was approved by the European Medicines Agency and recommended for use in African countries for children at risk of malaria infection.
On November 17, 2016, the World Health Organization announced that RTS,S will be used in WHO pilot projects in three African countries. In fact, it was a clinical trial of the drug in real conditions. Vaccination in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi started in the spring and autumn of 2019. In 2021, WHO reported that the vaccine in combination with other antimalarial diseases reduces morbidity and mortality by 70%.
And yet the main profit to the manufacturer is provided by drugs for respiratory infections, cancer, HIV, diabetes, mental disorders. There are among the developments of GlaxoSmithKline and included in the WHO list of essential medicines. These are pyrimethamine, amoxicillin, zidovudine and mercaptopurine.
Sanofi
Sanofi Company
The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi (until mid-2011 Sanofi-Aventis) operates in 100 countries around the world. It specializes in the production of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, the development and production of vaccines.
In 1973, the state oil company Elf Aquitaine organized a pharmaceutical division, which over the next six years grew into a large pharmaceutical company. In 1983, the largest research center in the country began to work in its composition. During the same period, Sanofi medicines began to be sold in America and Japan. In 1999, it became one of the three largest pharmaceutical companies in France.
Consumers in the CIS markets are well aware of the manufacturer’s drugs “Essentiale”, “Kleksan”, “No-shpa”, “Amaryl”, “Lokren”, “Insuman”, Magne B6 and others. In 2021, the production of medicines brought the company 27 billion euros. The manufacturer earned another 6.3 billion on vaccines.
At the end of the year, Sanofi ‘s best-selling drugs were:
Dupixent — the company earned 5.25 billion euros on the sale of funds for atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma.
Lantus, an analogue of insulin, brought 2.5 billion euros to the manufacturer.
AstraZeneca
The British-Swedish pharmaceutical production is registered in the UK and ranks tenth in the world in terms of sales of over-the-counter drugs. The company’s products are sold in 130 countries around the world.
Founded by a group of physicians and pharmacists in 1913, the company quickly gained momentum thanks to the import substitution of German medicines during the First World War. After its completion, the production was on the verge of ruin. Nationalization and private investment saved him from bankruptcy.
The most successful product of the company is Seloken. It is developed on the basis of metoprolol, which AstraZeneca pharmacists managed to synthesize in 1969. Another popular development of the manufacturer is the drug “Pulmicort” for the treatment of bronchial asthma. He appeared on the market in 1988 and is still considered one of the best in his group.
AstraZeneca allocates billions of dollars for scientific research. More than 9,000 specialists are involved in them. The development is carried out in the field of cardiology, oncology, vascular pathologies, pulmonology. A separate area of work is drugs for rare diseases, in which the manufacturer has succeeded.
In 2021 , billion – dollar revenue was brought to him by divisions:
Oncology — $13 billion.
Biopharmaceuticals — $14.1 billion.
Rare diseases — $3.1 billion
COVID-19 and other funds — $6.4 billion.
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals
The Chinese pharmaceutical giant unites dozens of laboratories, production facilities and enterprises for the sale of medicines. The headquarters of the company is located in Shanghai, the work and the main sales markets are concentrated in China.
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding was registered on January 18, 1994. It consists of three divisions:
Manufacturing, engaged in the development and production of chemical, biopharmaceutical drugs and traditional Chinese medicine. It brings in about 20-24 billion yuan a year.
Distribution — wholesale sales of medicines, Exports bring the company 168 billion yuan.
Retail sales through its own pharmacy chains give an additional 8-9 billion yuan.
Takeda Pharmaceutical
The company was founded in 1781 in Osaka and initially traded in Chinese and Japanese folk medicine. By the end of the 19th century, Western medicines also appeared in the assortment. Takeda’s first own production of medicines appeared in 1895 and in 25 years has grown to a large pharmaceutical company.
One of the main achievements is the synthesis of vitamins C and B1, which Takeda has been engaged in since 1937. This is still one of the main areas of work: the manufacturer accounts for almost 50% of the vitamins produced in Japan.
Takeda Pharmaceutical’s areas of interest include oncology, gastrointestinal diseases, and neurobiology. The company regularly acquires companies of narrow specialization, expanding cooperation and the range of products. In April 2008, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which develops cancer drugs, joined the pharmaceutical corporation. The drug “Bortezomib” for the treatment of hematological malignancies was developed after its purchase.
In January 2017, Takeda acquired another American company ARIAD Pharmaceuticals and expanded its oncological and hematology areas of work. A year later, the European firm TiGenix, specializing in cell therapy, joined it.
The Japanese manufacturer concluded the largest deal in its history in January 2019, when it acquired the Irish company Shire. The purchase cost $62 billion. The deal gives the Asian manufacturer access to the business of rare diseases and the production of drugs derived from blood plasma.
What awaits the world pharmacy?
Pharmaceutical giants earn the main capital on the release of exclusive drugs. Gradually they lose this property: generics and biosimilar versions appear on the market. So that the cash flow does not dry up, manufacturers invest in the development of other medicines. In this regard, nothing will change in the pharmacological market.
Experts consider antitumor drugs and medicines for Alzheimer’s disease to be the most promising area of work. According to forecasts, by 2050, 131 million people will be diagnosed with the latter.
The cost of developing anti-cancer drugs doubles every 4-5 years. This year, in the US alone, they will exceed $100 billion. Experts call research in this ar
ea one of the most long-term directions. Consequently, global giants will continue to invest millions of dollars in it and earn billions in sales.