In this article, we will be taking a look at the top 20 drug companies in the world in 2022. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the top 5 drug companies in the world in 2022.
While major pharmaceutical companies have always been derided for considering profits over the well-being of the general population, even earning the moniker of “Big Pharma” denoting a shadow organization of the major players in the pharma industry. This is especially relevant in the United States, where prices of drugs are not regulated by the government, allowing the companies to exploit the general population, with perhaps the most infamous such occurring in 2015, when Turing Pharmaceutical’s CEO, Martin Shkreli, increase the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000%, from $13.5 a pill to $750. However, the past two years have gone a long way in improving the image of the drug and pharma industry.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the infection and death rate kept increasing exponentially week after week, most countries were at a loss on what to do since this was unlike anything they had prepared for. Immediately, pharma companies started to begin research on developing a vaccine against the coronavirus, but there was little expectation that any meaningful achievement would be managed quickly, especially considering that vaccines can take up to a decade for proper development and sometimes not even then, as evidenced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS as its more popularly known. While the virus first emerged in 2003, there has still been no vaccine developed for it.
Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash
Despite the enormity of the task, to battle the worst pandemic in a decade, some of the biggest drug companies in the world began researching potential vaccines and a year after the virus first emerged, the first vaccine obtained emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration. 1.5 years down the rate, and the worst of the pandemic seems behind us as billions across the world have been inoculated against the deadly virus.
While many believe that pharma companies had a bumper year after the pandemic as more and more people got sick, the truth is quite different. Many pharma companies saw revenues declining significantly in the wake of the pandemic as global supply chains were completely disrupted. Remember, most multinational companies have production sites which serve multiple markets and with supply chains and logistics disrupted, it was harder to accurately predict supply. This, combined with unpredictable customer behaviors meant that many companies ended up falling below their expected targets.
Most of the biggest drug companies in the world operate in the United States, even if their country of incorporation is elsewhere. In fact, the drug industry is set to be worth more than $1.7 trillion by 2025, with just United States and China accounting for more than half the market share. By the way, you can click to following link to see the list of 25 biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world in 2021.To determine 2022’s biggest players in the drug industry, we consulted Fortune Global 500 and annual reports of major companies to arrive at our list. Even Fortune 500 isn’t completely accurate at times, for example, listing China Resources Group in the pharmaceutical industry, even though its actually a holding company with subsidiaries in various industries. If we hadn’t bifurcated CR Pharmaceuticals, which is the pharmaceutical subsidiary of China Resources Group, our list would have been inaccurate and the top spot would have been incorrectly awarded. So let’s now take a look at some of the companies looking to achieve supremacy in the drug industry, starting with number 20:
20. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 18,304
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 6,208
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 25,286
Total employees of the company: 48,478
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is a Danish pharmaceutical company and maintains production in nine countries. While it has offices in just five countries, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) markets its products in close to 170 countries.
19. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 25,979
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 5,893
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 61,65
Total employees of the company: 24,200
Based in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) provides over 7% of the total city’s employment and is considered to be the biggest employer in Ventura County. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) aims to provide treatment which is based on recombinant DNA technology.
18. BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 18,430
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 9,991
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 15,355
Total employees of the company: 3,100
BioNTech SE (NYSE:BNTX) is one of multiple German companies in our list of the biggest drug companies in the world. BioNTech SE (NYSE:BNTX) partnered with Pfizer to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, which was the first one approved by the Food and Drug Adminstration. BioNTech SE (NYSE:BNTX) uses mRNA-based human therapeutic for treatment.
17. CR Pharmaceutical
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 30,785
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 864
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 22,959
Total employees of the company: 65,000
CR Pharmaceutical is the pharma subsidiary of one China’s biggest conglomerates in China Research Group.
16. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 28,318
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 5,582
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 48,806
Total employees of the company: 35,238
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is an American drug company founded in 1876. With products sold in over 125 countries worldwide, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has maintained successfully a major international presence. Some of Eli Lilly and Company’s (NYSE:LLY) biggest products include Prozac and Symbalta.
15. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 27,305
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 6,225
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 67,952
Total employees of the company: 14,400
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is considered to be among the biggest HIV companies in the world. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was also involved in controversies regarding business practices which included extremely high pricing in the United States of some drugs. Biktarvy is among Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GILD) biggest products, used in the treatment of HIV.
14. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 18,471
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 12,202
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 24,669
Total employees of the company: 2,700
Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is one of the biggest vaccine companies in the world which produced a successful vaccine for battling the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, the Covid-19 vaccine is the only commercial product of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), which has more than 20 products to have entered clinical trials.
13. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 37,417
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 112
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 105,363
Total employees of the company: 83,100
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is a UK based pharma company. Known for its development of a Covid-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was engaged in controversy after being sued by the European Commission for delaying the delivery of its vaccine. The lawsuit was settled when AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) agreed to deliver 60 million doses to EU member states.
12. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 31,771
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 2,048
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 108,542
Total employees of the company: 47,347
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) is a Japanese drug company which has American and British involvement as well. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) focuses on gastroenterology, inflammation and neurology among other areas.
11. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 46,385
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 6,994
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 109,314
Total employees of the company: 32,200
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) is an American drug company which is involved in several therapeutic areas including HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular diseases, hepatitis, diabetes and cancer. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) maintains several research and development facilities across the country and even in some international locations.
10. GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 46,915
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 6,030
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 107,129
Total employees of the company: 90,096
Headquartered in the UK, GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was formed in 2000 by the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. One of the biggest companies in the UK by market cap, GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has recently been in the news for developing the first malaria vaccine in the world. However, GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) may not be in this list for much longer after spinning off its consumer division.
9. Bayer AG
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 52,118
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 1,182
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 136,714
Total employees of the company: 99,637
It is one of the biggest drug companies in the world but still not even the biggest pharmaceutical company in Germany.
8. Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 52,118
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 1,182
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 136,714
Total employees of the company: 95,442
The largest drug company in France is Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY). While Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) primarily engages in the prescription drugs industry, it also sells over-the-counter drugs. Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) is also considered to be the one of the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world.
7. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 51,216
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 13,049
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 105,694
Total employees of the company: 67,500
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a German pharma giant listed on the New York Stock Exchange in addition to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has research and development offices in Boston, Tokyo and Beijing. An interesting fact not many know about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is that in the 19th century, it held a virtual monopoly on cocaine.
6. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 56,197
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 11,542
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 146,529
Total employees of the company: 50,000
Abbott Laboratories did not make our list of the biggest drug companies in the world because it doesn’t manufacture drugs anymore, after it spun off AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV). AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a biopharmaceutical company which was founded in 2013, with some of AbbVie Inc.’s (NYSE:ABBV) biggest products including Humira, Imbruvica and Zinbryta.
Click to continue reading and see the Top 5 Drug Companies in the World in 2022.
See also:
- 12 biggest agriculture companies in the world
- 15 largest ecommerce companies
- 15 Largest Biotech Companies in the world
Disclosure: None. Top 20 drug companies in the world in 2022 is originally published at Insider Monkey.
