One of the few newly formed entities in this list, Viatris, resulted from a November 2020 merger of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn division. In charge of the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company is former Mylan CEO Robert Coury, who led that company from 2002 to 2012. Included in the company’s product lineup are well-known off-patent drugs such…
Shionogi
Shionogi is more than 140 years old. The Japanese pharma giant is focusing in the U.S. on developing and commercializing products to meet what it sees as unmet needs, including infectious diseases, pain and chronic liver disease. Shionogi in 2020 launched the siderophore cephalosporin antibiotic Fetroja (cefiderocol) in the U.S. –CN
Sino Biopharmaceutical
Sino Biopharm is a research-driven pharmaceutical conglomerate based in mainland China. The company markets various biopharmaceutical and chemical medicines for treating tumors, liver diseases, orthopedic diseases, infections, respiratory system diseases and more. The core business in the group is the ChiaTai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group. –CN
Sinopharm (pharmaceutical distribution segment)
The Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm is a conglomerate with business units spanning R&D, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, retail pharma and beyond. The company boasts that it operates more than 1,100 subsidiaries, including China National Medicines Corp., China National Accord Medicines Corp., Beijing Tiantan Biological Products and Shanghai Shyndec Pharmaceutical. Sinopharm’s revenues have expanded significantly…
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma
Formed in 2005 from the merger of Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co. and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma has focused on boosting flexibility and efficiency in recent years. The company has a goal of establishing its position as a “Global Specialized Player” by 2033, according to its 2020 annual report. Focus areas include psychiatry and neurology, diabetes,…
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
Sun Pharma is one of the largest specialty generic pharmaceutical companies in the world. With more than 40 manufacturing facilities, it provides medicines to more than 100 countries worldwide. The company has a portfolio of more than 2,000 molecules. Delivery takes place in various ways: tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalers, ointments, creams and liquids. Sun Pharma…
Takeda Pharmaceutical
The Japanese pharma giant works with health providers and patients in roughly 80 countries. Its research efforts are focused on four therapeutic areas: oncology, rare genetic and hematology, neuroscience, and gastroenterology. Takeda also makes targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. The company posted in February that it has a pipeline of roughly 40…
Teva Pharmaceutical
Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals is developing drugs for the respiratory, migraine, headache, neurodegenerative condition, movement disorder and oncology therapeutic areas and makes generic medications. Diseases of focus include multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Tardive dyskinesia, as well as specialty therapies for chronic forms of leukemia and types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. –DK
UCB
Founded nearly a century ago, UCB saw breakthrough successes in the 1980s and ’90s with the creation of the antihistamine Zyrtec and the seizure treatment Keppra. By the 21st century, UCB was transforming into a pure biopharma company focusing on neurology and immunology disorders. The company continued to shop for acquisitions during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Ipsen
Ipsen is a mid-size biopharmaceutical company focusing on transformative medicines in oncology, rare diseases and neuroscience. It markets more than 20 drugs in over 115 countries, with a direct commercial presence in more than 30 countries. Ipsen has located its R&D in major biotech and life sciences hubs, including Paris-Saclay in France; Oxford, U.K.; Cambridge,…
Incyte
Incyte has a hematology and oncology franchise that includes four approved products: Jakafi (ruxolitinib), Monjuvi (tafasitamab-cxix), Pemazyre (pemigatinib) and Iclusig (ponatinib). Jakafi was the first FDA-approved therapeutic to inhibit enzymes called janus associated kinases (JAK), according to Incyte. FDA approved Jakafi in 2011 for the treatment of the rare and life-threatening condition myelofibrosis, followed by…
Janssen (Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical segment)
While Johnson & Johnson tops some lists of the largest pharmaceutical companies, the conglomerate ranks sixth in our list based on its drug sales alone. Its Janssen segment has a broad therapeutic focus, including immunology, infectious disease, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension. The Titusville, N.J.–based business that became part of Johnson &…
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company developing medicines for people with serious diseases with limited or no options. Its treatments focus on neurosciences therapeutics and hematology and oncology. The Dublin, Ireland–based company has seven commercialized drugs. They include Xyrem and Xywav for treating cataplexy and EDS in adult and pediatric patients with narcolepsy; Sunosi…
Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co.
Publicly traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine boasts over 100 pipelines and products across therapeutic areas such as oncology, metabolics, autoimmune, pain management. In China, it has established a National Targeted Drug Engineering Technology Research Center. HengRui USA’s headquarters are in Princeton, N.J. –CN
Menarini
The privately-held Italian company has been in the pharmaceuticals business for more than 125 years. It has a presence in over 100 countries, including a direct presence in over 70 countries. Menarini has products in the cardiovascular, gastroenterology, metabolic, infectious diseases and anti-inflammatory/analgesic space. It also has several new investigational cancer drugs in development. –CN
Merck
Merck is developing therapeutic and preventative drugs and vaccines for several conditions. Its development efforts extend to oncology, immunology, neurosciences, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes and women’s health. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenilworth, N.J.-based pharma giant has made numerous acquisition announcements in the last year to expand its oncology and autoimmune disease treatment portfolios. It acquired…
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Significant milestones in 2020 for the Germany-based Merck included FDA approval of its immuno-oncology therapy Bavencio for advanced urothelial cancer treatment. Other approvals included the oral multiple sclerosis therapy Mavenclad, now registered in over 80 countries, including in the U.S. and EU. Merck also secured Japanese approval of its oncology precision medicine Tepmetko, which it…
Novartis
The Basel, Switzerland-headquartered company divides its operations into units focused on generics (Sandoz), eye care (Alcon) and innovative medicines. Its Sandoz subsidiary is one of the largest generic drug makers. In 2020, the division earned consolidated net sales of $9.6 billion, which was roughly one-fifth of the company’s total revenue. In January 2020, the company…
Novo Nordisk
The Bagsværd, Denmark–headquartered Novo Nordisk has production facilities throughout the world. Traditionally focused on diabetes, Novo Nordisk continues to sharpen its R&D focus on other chronic diseases, including obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. The company continues to invest in diabetes therapies working on novel insulins and various uses for semaglutide, which works like human glucagon-like peptide-1…
Otsuka Holdings (pharmaceutical business)
The Otsuka group’s pharmaceutical business has a focus on treatments involving the central nervous system and oncology. The group is also engaged in a wide range of other fields, including cardiovascular, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, diagnostics, clinical nutrition and medical devices. The Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory (OPF) has been in the IV business in Japan for over 70…
Pfizer
Founded in 1849, Pfizer ranks among the most well known pharmaceutical companies in the world. The New York City–based firm has been in the limelight for its COVID-19 vaccine development work with partner BioNTech, but Pfizer became a smaller player during the pandemic. In November, Pfizer completed its divestiture of Upjohn, which merged with Mylan…
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that commercializes medicines designed to treat patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pain, infectious diseases and other rare diseases. The Tarrytown, N.Y.-based company commercializes eight medicines, with its Eylea injection leading sales in its most recent fiscal year. In November last year,…
Roche Pharmaceuticals (division of Roche Group)
Roche has long been one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies, but its pharmaceutical sales slumped during the pandemic owing to reduced demand and competition from biosimilars. Growth in its diagnostic division, however, propelled growth for the Basel, Switzerland–based company. In terms of Roche’s COVID-19 response, the company quickly positioned its arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) as…
Sanofi
Paris-based Sanofi is one of the world’s top vaccine companies. Sanofi’s therapeutic focus area, however, is broad, also extending to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders, internal medicine, oncology and thrombosis. Sanofi along with GlaxoSmithKline joined the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed program in 2020 to jointly provide 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. In…
Servier
Governed by a foundation, Servier is an independent group that invests more than a fifth of its brand-name revenue in R&D annually. Strong in the cardiology space, it aims to become a recognized and innovative player in oncology. The company is constructing its new Servier Research and Development Institute within the Paris-Saclay scientific hub in…