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Pharma’s top 20 R&D spenders in 2021

By Brian Buntz | March 30, 2022

Pharma 50 top R&D spenders spending pharmaceutical companiesIf 2020 underscored the importance of the pharma industry’s social importance, 2021 demonstrated the industry’s ability to translate R&D into profitable commercialized products.

But while strong demand for COVID-19 therapies in 2021 provided unprecedented revenue levels for a handful of Big Pharma companies, it didn’t result in substantial changes in R&D spending.  (Look out for more insights from our annual Pharma 50 report.) 

In 2019, pharmaceutical companies spent an average of roughly 25% of their revenue on R&D, according to federal government statistics. In 2021, top R&D spenders invested closer to one-fifth of their revenue in R&D.

FDA approvals of new drugs in 2021 also held steady. The agency approved 50 novel drugs in 2021, which was roughly in line with the 53 drugs that won approval a year prior. 

Companies R&D Spend R&D as a percentage of revenue
1. Pfizer $13,829,000,000 17.0%
2. Roche Pharmaceuticals (division of Roche Group) $13,342,082,240 27.1%
3. Merck & Co. $12,245,000,000 25.1%
4. Janssen (Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical segment) $11,882,000,000 22.8%
5. Bristol Myers Squibb $11,354,000,000 24.5%
6. AstraZeneca $9,736,000,000 26.0%
7. Novartis $9,540,000,000 18.5%
8. AbbVie $7,084,000,000 12.6%
9. Eli Lilly $7,025,900,000 24.8%
10. Sanofi $6,716,560,000 15.1%
11. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (minus consumer segment) $6,571,776,000 14.0%
12. Gilead Sciences $5,363,000,000 19.6%
13. Amgen $4,819,000,000 18.5%
14. Takeda Pharmaceutical $4,149,672,251 14.3%
15. Bayer (Pharmaceuticals Division) $3,704,020,000 17.1%
16. Vertex Pharmaceuticals $3,051,000,000 40.3%
17. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals $2,908,100,000 18.1%
18. Novo Nordisk $2,829,936,306 12.6%
19. Biogen $2,501,200,000 22.8%
20. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany/Merck Group/EMD Group $2,434,340,000 12.8%
Top R&D spenders ranked by overall spending.

Filed Under: RD
Tagged With: AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Merck & Co., Novartis, Pfizer, Pharma 50, Roche
 

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