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Who are the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies?

Some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies have played a central role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it’s likely no surprise that the pandemic has also been great for many healthcare businesses. In fact, in 2020 alone, the world’s 50 largest pharmaceutical companies still combined for a whopping $851 billion in revenues.

In this graphic, using data from Companies Market Cap, we list the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by market capitalization. It’s worth noting this list also includes healthcare companies that work closely with pharmaceuticals, including biotech, pharmaceutical retailers, clinical laboratories, etc.

The Pharmaceutical Leaders

To start, here are the top five biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world at the moment by market capitalization:

1. Johnson & Johnson

The pharmaceutical and consumer goods giant is worth $428.7 billion in market cap. They developed the third vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. and were named among the TIME100 Most Influential Companies List in 2021.

2. Roche

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant is at the forefront of oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and neuroscience. In 2019, Roche’s pharma segment sales rose by a healthy 16% to $53 billion.

3. Pfizer

Despite being the leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer in North America, Pfizer slid in the rankings to third place. The company has recently gained momentum, especially in the past quarter, with Q2’2021 revenues of $19.0 billion, reflecting a 86% operational growth from 2020.

4. Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly has taken a significant step towards establishing itself as a pharmaceutical industry leader. Having a market cap value of $125 billion in 2019, Eli Lilly has jumped to a current value of $214.9 billion, a significant growth of 72%.

5. Novartis

The second-biggest pharmaceutical company out of Switzerland, Novartis has been the face of the pharma industry for about 25 years. The primary manufacturer for the most recognizable drugs on the market pulled in a revenue of over $48 billion in 2020, a 3% increase compared to 2019.

Here’s how all the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world stack up against each other:

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Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
1	Johnson & Johnson JNJ	$428.66 B	USA
2	Roche RHHBY	$320.41 B	Switzerland
3	Pfizer PFE	$219.39 B	USA
4	Eli Lilly LLY	$208.99 B	USA
5	Novartis NVS	$207.70 B	Switzerland
6	Merck MRK	$191.67 B	USA
7	Novo Nordisk NVO	$187.83 B	Denmark
8	Astrazeneca AZN	$152.28 B	UK
9	Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY	$145.80 B	USA
10	Amgen AMGN	$136.50 B	USA

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
11	Sanofi SNY	$130.37 B	France
12	CVS Health CVS	$110.49 B	USA
13	Gilead Sciences GILD	$83.62 B	USA
14	Moderna MRNA	$83.25 B	USA
15	Merck KGaA MRK.DE	$80.61 B	Germany
16	Bayer BAYZF	$59.43 B	Germany
17	Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine 600276.SS	$58.51 B	China
18	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN	$55.83 B	USA
19	Biogen BIIB	$55.00 B	USA
20	BioNTech BNTX	$54.23 B	Germany

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
21	Takeda Pharmaceutical TAK	$52.67 B	Japan
22	Lonza LONN.SW	$52.16 B	Switzerland
23	Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA	$45.05 B	USA
24	Celltrion 068270.KS	$33.80 B	S. Korea
25	Astellas Pharma ALPMF	$33.42 B	Japan
26	BeiGene BGNE	$31.65 B	China
27	Eisai 4523.T	$31.20 B	Japan
28	West Pharma WST	$26.59 B	USA
29	Hansoh Pharma 3692.HK	$26.00 B	China
30	LabCorp LH	$25.97 B	USA

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
31	Otsuka Holdings 4578.T	$23.15 B	Japan
32	Horizon Therapeutics HZNP	$21.13 B	Ireland
33	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ALNY	$20.42 B	USA
34	kyowa Kirin 4151.T	$18.85 B	Japan
35	Catalent CTLT	$18.74 B	USA
36	Sino Biopharmaceutical 1177.HK	$18.48 B	Hong Kong SAR
37	Bio-Techne TECH	$17.25 B	USA
38	PPD PPD	$16.26 B	USA
39	Argenx ARGX	$16.03 B	Netherlands
40	Shionogi 4507.T	$15.29 B	Japan

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
41	Dr. Reddy's RDY	$11.88 B	India
42	Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA	$11.21 B	Israel
43	Ono Pharmaceutical 4528.T	$11.12 B	Japan
44	ICON plc ICLR	$11.09 B	Ireland
45	Bausch Health BHC	$10.47 B	Canada
46	CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP	$10.42 B	Switzerland
47	Curevac CVAC	$10.33 B	Germany
48	Hualan Biological Engineering 002007.SZ	$10.31 B	China
49	Vifor Pharma VIFN.SW	$9.49 B	Switzerland
50	Neurocrine Biosciences NBIX	$9.45 B	USA

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
51	Sinopharm 1099.HK	$9.42 B	China
52	BridgeBio Pharma BBIO	$8.89 B	USA
53	Cadila Healthcare CADILAHC.NS	$8.59 B	India
54	Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma 4506.T	$8.16 B	Japan
55	Tilray TLRY	$7.89 B	Canada
56	Ascendis Pharma ASND	$7.51 B	Denmark
57	Evotec EVT.F	$7.19 B	Germany
58	Lupin Limited LUPIN.NS	$7.04 B	India
59	Gland Pharma GLAND.NS	$7.01 B	India
60	Exelixis EXEL	$6.95 B	USA

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
61	GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH	$6.81 B	UK
62	KOBAYASHI Pharmaceutical 4967.T	$6.78 B	Japan
63	Torrent Pharmaceuticals TORNTPHARM.NS	$6.61 B	India
64	Biocon BIOCON.NS	$6.43 B	India
65	PeptiDream 4587.T	$6.32 B	Japan
66	Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT	$6.25 B	USA
67	Perrigo PRGO	$6.21 B	Ireland
68	Orion Corporation ORNAV.HE	$6.11 B	Finland
69	Lundbeck LDB.F	$6.04 B	Denmark
70	AbCellera ABCL	$5.87 B	Canada

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
71	Adaptive Biotechnologies ADPT	$5.69 B	USA
72	Intellia Therapeutics NTLA	$5.62 B	USA
73	Santen Pharmaceutical 4536.T	$5.49 B	Japan
74	Nippon Shinyaku 4516.T	$5.46 B	Japan
75	Beam Therapeutics BEAM	$5.43 B	USA
76	Reata Pharmaceuticals RETA	$5.15 B	USA
77	Swedish Orphan Biovitrum SOBI.ST	$5.13 B	Sweden
78	BB Biotech BION.SW	$5.08 B	Switzerland
79	Alkem Laboratories ALKEM.NS	$5.00 B	India
80	Abbott India ABBOTINDIA.NS	$4.69 B	India

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
81	Laurus Labs LAURUSLABS.NS	$4.44 B	India
82	Taisho Pharmaceutical 4581.T	$4.39 B	Japan
83	Hanmi Pharmaceutical 008930.KS	$4.22 B	S. Korea
84	Alkermes ALKS	$3.87 B	Ireland
85	Karuna Therapeutics KRTX	$3.71 B	USA
86	Shinpoong Pharm 019170.KS	$3.65 B	S. Korea
87	NantKwest NK	$3.55 B	USA
88	Ipca Laboratories IPCALAB.NS	$3.41 B	India
89	Nektar Therapeutics NKTR	$3.02 B	USA
90	BioCryst Pharmaceuticals BCRX	$3.01 B	USA

Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
91	Vericel VCEL	$2.96 B	USA
92	Dicerna Pharmaceuticals DRNA	$2.84 B	USA
93	Rocket Pharmaceuticals RCKT	$2.74 B	USA
94	Axsome Therapeutics AXSM	$2.65 B	USA
95	Natco Pharma NATCOPHARM.NS	$2.63 B	India
96	Alembic Pharmaceuticals APLLTD.NS	$2.59 B	India
97	Editas Medicine EDIT	$2.54 B	USA
98	Glenmark Pharmaceuticals GLENMARK.NS	$2.42 B	India
99	Sanofi India Limited SANOFI.NS	$2.39 B	India
100	Rubius Therapeutics RUBY	$2.22 B	USA

World’s Largest Pharmaceutical Exporters and Importers

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), these countries exported the most number of pharmaceuticals in the year 2019:

In contrast, here are the biggest importers over the same period.

This position is hardly surprising for the U.S., where six of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies are headquartered. The country also captures 45% of the global market.

The Future of Pharmaceutical Companies

If the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that in building a patient-centered future, the pharmaceutical industry plays a key role. It has to constantly find new ways to customize medicines while researching and developing new tools and drugs.

By embracing disruptive technologies like 3D printed drugs, artificial intelligence guided therapies, and preventive medicine while working with regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies will benefit from having a digital revolution.

Furthermore, emerging markets will have a more significant say in the global pharmaceutical market in the coming years. Even though ‘big pharma’ will keep raking in the massive profits they do every year, their reliance on countries like Brazil and India for research and drug production will significantly impact the years to come.