In the ranking compiled by Pharm Exec, few surprises as regards the podium: as regards sales, Pfizer, Novartis and Roche remain in the top three positions also in this first part of 2016. Although changing in some positions, the companies that make up this special classification remain almost the same.
June 15, 2016 – Daily Health Industry
No exploits like Gilead – which last year, thanks to its hepatitis C drug, moved from 25th to ninth position – while still no generics companies appear in the top ten positions. The only Italian presence in the standings remains Menarini, who however loses some positions compared to 2015, going from 39th to 43rd place.
Pfizer back on top
With just over $43 billion in sales, Pfizer is back in first place at the expense of Novartis, now second. The sphere of vaccines would have weighed on this change, a sector that the Swiss company has recently abandoned, but that Pfizer is riding well with the pneumococcus vaccine, Prevenar. Novartis, however, with almost 8.5 billion dollars of investments, is the first to believe in the Research and Development sector.
As for the manufacturers of generic drugs, the first to appear in the ranking is the Israeli Teva – in thirteenth position overall – which is expanding its portfolio thanks to the acquisition of Allergan's generics.
In the top ten, MSD moves to fourth place, displacing Sanofi, now fifth. Gilead, on the other hand, continues to rise, moving from ninth to sixth position and causing Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca to retreat by one place. However, it is always the USA that dominates, with 19 companies in the rankings, followed by Japan with eight pharmaceutical companies among the top 50.
Related news: Pharm Exec's Top 50 Companies 2016
