30 Best Biotech Companies In The World

 

The biotechnology industry is comprised of hundreds of companies that fuse biology and technology to develop drugs and related products for the treatment of diseases and medical conditions. Today’s biotechnology industry includes companies that make medical devices and diagnostics, as well as biofuels, biomaterials, pollution controls, and more.

Among the largest companies in the industry are pharmaceutical companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) and Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD). Gilead’s investigational compound named remdesivir is seen as having the potential to treat COVID-19.

These companies generally focus on creating and testing new drug compounds for medical use and must go through lengthy trial and approval processes for their products. This means investors often must wait for months or even years before knowing whether potential drug therapy is usable or profitable.

In spite of the many challenges facing biotechnology companies, a number of enterprises have risen to the top of the list. Below, we’ll take a look at the 30 biggest Biotech Companies in the world.

 

1. Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO)

Revenue (TTM): $18.3 billion

Net Income (TTM): $5.8 billion

Market Cap: $118.6 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: 0.5%

Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

Novo Nordisk is a multinational biotech company headquartered in Denmark with production facilities in seven countries and affiliates or offices in 80 countries. The company’s primary focus is diabetes care, hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy. The company makes several drugs under various brand names including Levemir, NovoLog, Novolin R, NovoSeven, NovoEight, and Victoza.

 

2. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN)

Revenue (TTM): $7.9 billion

Net Income (TTM): $2.1 billion

Market Cap: $49.5 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: 14.7%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Biopharmaceutical company Regeneron develops and markets drug treatments for patients with eye disease, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, allergic and inflammatory issues, and infectious diseases. Through its Regeneron Genetics Center, the company aims to conduct one of the largest gene-sequencing operations worldwide.

 

3. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN)

Revenue (TTM): $5.0 billion

Net Income (TTM): $2.4 billion

Market Cap: $19.0 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -34.1%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Alexion is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and markets immunoregulatory drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Through its drug therapies, Alexion aims to provide patients with compounds that selectively target portions of the immune system which may allow diseases to proliferate.

See Also: 20 Best Biotech Companies In India

4. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX)

Revenue (TTM): $4.2 billion

Net Income (TTM): $1.2 billion

Market Cap: $57.9 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: 22.9%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Biopharmaceutical company Vertex focuses on creating and marketing drug treatments for patients suffering from cancer, cystic fibrosis, autoimmune diseases, and neurological disorders, among others.

 

5. Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (JAZZ)

Revenue (TTM): $2.2 billion

Net Income (TTM): $0.5 billion

Market Cap: $5.4 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -30.0%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Irish biopharmaceutical company Jazz Pharmaceuticals creates and commercializes drug products designed to address issues related to narcolepsy, psychiatry, pain management, and oncology. On March 25, the company announced FDA approval of its drug JZP-258 for the treatment of cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness.3

 

6. Incyte Corp. (INCY)

Revenue (TTM): $2.2 billion

Net Income (TTM): $0.5 billion

Market Cap: $14.6 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -21.0%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Focusing on small molecule drugs for use in oncology primarily, Incyte is a biopharmaceutical company responsible for discovering, developing, and marketing drug therapies. The company is best known for its drug Jakafi, a treatment for myelofibrosis.

 

7. Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN)

Revenue (TTM): $1.7 billion

Net Income (TTM): -$0.02 billion

Market Cap: $14.4 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -9.3%

Exchange: Nasdaq

A maker of therapeutic enzyme products, Biomarin Pharmaceutical develops drug treatments for lysosomal storage diseases as well as serious burns. The company also provides diagnostic and analytic services for carbohydrate biology applications.

 

8. United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR)

Revenue (TTM): $1.4 billion

Net Income (TTM): -$0.1 billion

Market Cap: $3.9 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -27.1%

Exchange: Nasdaq

United Therapeutics primarily develops drug treatments for pulmonary hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and other vascular conditions. Among the company’s most popular medicines are Remodulin, Orenitram, Unituxin, and Tyvaso.

 

9. Alkermes PLC (ALKS)

Revenue (TTM): $1.2 billion

Net Income (TTM): $-0.2 billion

Market Cap: $2.2 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -58.6%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Alkermes is an Irish biopharmaceutical company. This firm creates treatments for central nervous system disorders including depression, schizophrenia, and addiction. It also focuses on treatments for diabetes.

 

10. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IONS)

Revenue (TTM): $1.1 billion

Net Income (TTM): $0.3 billion

Market Cap: $6.2 billion

1-Year Trailing Total Return: -43.2%

Exchange: Nasdaq

Biotechnology company Ionis discovers and develops RNA-based therapeutic products. Its three primary, commercially-available medicines include WAYLIVRA, Spinraza, and Tegsedi. It also has drug treatments in various stages of development to treat Huntington’s disease, ALS, and cardiovascular disease.

 

11. Sanofi (NYSE: SNY)

Sanofi is a French pharmaceutical company and is headquartered in Paris. It was formed initially in 1973, before becoming Sanofi Aventis in 2004, with the merger of Aventis and Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2011, the company changed its name to just Sanofi and is also the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

This is why the US has agreed to pay Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline $2.1 billion for an initial 100 million doses of a vaccine they are jointly working on, while the UK has also secured a potential 60 million doses from these two companies if their campaign is successful.

 

12. Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY)

One of the oldest American pharmaceutical companies, Eli Lilly & Co. was actually founded 144 years ago, back in 1876. It became the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce the vaccine for polio, as well as the development of insulin. It currently has a market cap of approximately $130 billion, while its profits for 2019 were $22.3 billion.

 

13. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NASDAQ: BMY)

Another ancient American pharmaceutical company is Bristol-Myers Squibb which was founded 133 years ago in 1887. The company is famous for its diverse portfolio which includes various therapies, some of which are HIV, diabetes, arthritis, psychiatric disorders, and cancer.

The company had a market capitalization of $105 billion, while its profits for the year 2019 amounted to $26.15 billion. One of the more controversial aspects of the company is the fact that it is facing a $1 billion trial for a major role in the 1940s where the US infected hundreds of people in Guatemala with syphilis as an experiment.

While a previous such lawsuit was dismissed because of the ruling that the US government cannot be held responsible for actions committed outside the country, we’ll see whether this trial suffers the same fate or will the US finally answer for some of the innumerable crimes it has committed as a superpower.

 

14. AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN)

AstraZeneca is a combined British Swedish multinational and biopharmaceutical company with headquarters in both of the aforementioned countries as well. It is one of the most recent companies in this list, having only been founded in 1999 through the merger of Swedish company Astra AB and the British Zeneca Group.

The company has kept on going through various acquisitions and currently has a market cap of $130.8 billion, the highest in its history, and had revenues of $24.38 in 2019 as well.

 

15. Bayer (FWB: BAYN)

The German company may have a market cap of just $80 billion (the term ‘just’ is relative to the market sizes of the other companies in the list), but has also revenues of over $48 billion in 2019, thus becoming one of the biggest biotechnology in the world.

It is one of the oldest companies on our list, having been founded 157 years ago, and is famous for its production of aspirin and introduced the first-ever antibiotic which was widely used. While the company was split into pieces after World War II due to its involvement in Nazi atrocities, the company quickly recovered to become one of the biggest biopharma companies out there currently.

 See Also: Top Biotech Brands In Nigeria

16. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK)

GSK has a current market cap of $117.2 billion, while in 2013, it hit its highest ever market cap of $174.9 billion. The company has a long history when you consider the companies that merged to form GSK, but GSK itself is only 19 years old, having been formed in 2000 with the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham.

The company’s claim to fame is the development of the first-ever malaria vaccine while it also provides some products included in the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, including amoxicillin. In 2019, it earned revenue of nearly $44 billion.

 

17. Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Amgen’s current market capitalization is an amazing $144.6 billion and is one of the largest independent biotechnology firms in the entire world. Established exactly 40 years ago, Amgen earned revenue of $23.4 billion in 2019 alone.

 

18. Abbvie (NYSE: ABBV)

Abbvie has a market capitalization of $130.9 billion, though it nearly reached $200 billion less than 3 years ago. This combined with a revenue of $33.27 billion ensured that it is easily one of the biggest biotech companies in the world. It was founded quite recently in 2013 and is a spinoff of another company that will make the list, later on, Abbott Laboratories.

 

19. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)

Just slightly ahead of its spin-off is Abbott Laboratories, which attained its highest ever market cap in 2019 at $153.5 billion. This American company was founded in 1888 and some of its most famous products include Pedialyte, Ensure, Glucerna, and Similac. It is considered to be among the best companies to work in.

Top Biotech Companies world

20. Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK)

The first company in our list of biggest biotech companies in the world to cross a market cap of $200 billion is Merck & Co., with a market cap of $232.9 billion in 2019. It also earned profits of $46.84 billion in 2019.

It was founded in the US as a subsidiary of Merck, a German company that is the world’s oldest operating pharmaceutical and chemical company. While it is a huge company, it has come under fire for misconduct, including Medicaid overbilling and a poor environmental record.

 

21. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)

While Pfizer’s market cap crossed $300 billion in 2000, its current market cap is $217 billion. It is such a giant that its not just one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, its one of the biggest companies in the world, period.

In 2018, Pfizer merged its consumer division with that of GlaxoSmithKline, with GSK having a controlling interest in the joint venture of 68%. The company has undertaken several acquisitions to become the current behemoth it is. Pfizer is also working on a vaccine for Covid-19 and has agreed to pay Pfizer $2 billion for an initial 100 million doses of a successful vaccine.

 

22. Novartis (NYSE: NVS)

Two of the top three biotech companies in the world are Swiss, starting off with Novartis, with a market cap of $240 billion. The company was formed in 1996 after the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Ceigy and has since gone on to become one of the biggest companies in the world, even though like other major pharma companies, it has faced a lot of scrutiny for controversial practices such as a sexual discrimination suit, marketing violations, bribery, payment to Trump’s attorney at the time Michael Cohen and data related scandals as well. Despite these controversies, its products continue to sell well, earning the company a revenue of $47.45 billion in 2019.

Top Biotech Companies world

23. F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (SIX:ROG)

Another Swiss company, Roche has its headquarters in Basel, having been founded 124 years ago. It was the first company ever in 1934 to mass-produce Vitamin C, while in 1957 it started to produce tranquilizers, including the controversial Rohypnol, which later gained infamy as a date rape drug. It also created the first antidepressant in 1956, albeit accidentally. In 2019, it had profits of $63.85 billion.

 

24. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

With a market capitalization of $385 billion and profits exceeding $82 billion, there is no doubt that J&J tops the list of the 5 largest biotech companies in the world.

The company includes 250 subsidiary companies that have operations in over 60 countries. J&J has more recently been famous for several huge rulings against it, especially with regards to its famous baby powder, which was said to cause cancer in its users.

However, despite the findings against the company, with awards going into billions of dollars, even that has not been enough to demote it from the top spot.

 

25.Syngene International Ltd.

Boasting a team of more than 4,200 scientists and 400+ patents, Syngene utilizes cutting-edge scientific research to nurture animal and human health. They have manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru and Mangaluru along with laboratories in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The company’s R&D and manufacturing facilities provide scientific services to the following sectors namely: Animal Health, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Speciality Chemical Companies, and Nutrition.

Top Biotech Companies world

26. Jubilant Life Sciences Limited

Jubilant Pharma is arguably one of the best biotech companies in India having a presence in over 100 countries across the globe.

The product portfolio ranges from CVF, CNF, anti-infective to anti-diabetic drugs. Aiming to reduce the environmental footprint, sustainability is a core aspect of their business.

The company has a Sustainability and CSR team in place for monitoring Social, Environment, and Economic progress.

 

27. Vivo Bio Tech Ltd.

Vivo Bio Tech Ltd. assists pharmaceutical & biotech companies in drug development & discovery.

They aim to build strategic global and regional partnerships to make high-quality healthcare consulting available to the market. Making significant headway in the commercialization of multiple products, they offer preclinical development services.

 

28. Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company was formed when there was a corporate restructuring of Sum Pharma. The main focus of the companyis innovation in therapeutics and delivery. They aim to improve the standards of patient care through out-of-the-box thinking and ideation. Partnering with the University of Michigan in 2020, the organization plans to commence the R&D for the development of new medicines.

 

29. Wockhardt

Wockhardt provides a reliable supply of medicines and vaccines across the world. Six New Chemical Entities (NCEs) have been developed under its novel antibiotics program. 7,000+ professionals across 27 nationalities worldwide help the company deliver world-class care services.

They are among the top 4 companies in Cough Preparations. This company secures the #6 spot on the list of top biotech companies in India.

Apart from that, they actively participate in CSR activities. The Wockhardt Skills Development Institute has trained 2400 students in FY 2019-20.

 

30. Bharat Biotech

 

Covaxin, a well-known product of Bharat Biotech is now a name known across the nation. Having over 160 patents in its name, the leading biotech company quickly aligned its processes to save the world.

They are the biggest rabies shot producer and have rolled out a business model tied to patient needs. With an aim to capture the emerging markets, they are building a robust product pipeline to fuel long-term growth.

 

SOURCES:

TY HAQQI. (2020, November 17)  5 Largest Biotech Companies in the World – https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-largest-biotech-companies-in-the-world-888649/4/

 

NATHAN REIFF. ( 2020, July 30) 10 Biggest Biotechnology Companies. – https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/122215/worlds-top-10-biotechnology-companies-jnj-rogvx.asp