The pharmaceutical industry has grown in recent years due to the need for vaccines and medicines to treat Covid-19. It’s one of the few industries to benefit from the pandemic, and it caused changes in the wealth and productivity of some of the biggest players, with some moving up a few ranks to become top performers. Finally, here are the world’s 20 largest pharmaceutical companies by 2022 ranked by year-end 2021 revenue from their top drugs/candidates.
The 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world 2022
Below is a list of the most 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world as of today. check them out.
20. Modern Pharmaceuticals
- Prescription sales for 2021: $19.167 billion
Modern Pharmaceutical is a leader in sales for its vaccine against Covid-19 Spikevax. The company headquarters is in Cambridge, m. The two-stage vaccine generated a total of $17.675 billion in prescription sales for 2021. Moderna’s sales for the year were $19.167 billion with research and development spending. The company is a leading manufacturer of mRNA therapies that alter instructions sent to the body’s immune system to prevent disease and treat existing conditions.
19. Viatris
- Prescription sales for 2021: $17.508 billion
Viatris is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Total sales for the year ending 2021 were $17.508 billion. Vitatris spent $642 million on research and development spending with its top drug sales of $1.663 million for the cholesterol drug Lipitor, followed by sales of $1.1 billion for the drug fluticasone propionate, salmeterol xinafoate, and $825 million for the drug Norvasc. Viatris is a leader in the production of life-saving cardiac and cardiovascular treatments.
18. Boehringer Ingelheim
- Prescription sales for 2021: $17.806 billion
Boehringer Ingelheim is a European pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany. The total the company paid for research and development expenses was $4.392 billion. Jardiance was the leading drug in 2021 with sales of $3,187 million, followed by $2,929 million for Ofev and $1,837 million for Tradjenta. The antidiabetic drug is widely prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes to control blood sugar levels.
17. Regeneration
- Prescription sales for 2021: $12.117 billion
Pharm Exec.com reports that the 20th largest pharmaceutical company in the world by 2022 is Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The headquarters is located in Tarrytown, New York. The company generated $12.117 billion in drug sales for 2021 and spent $2.864 billion on research and development spending. However, the company’s top prescription drugs are Ronapreve with $5,828 million in sales, Elea with $5,792, and Libtayo with $306 million. Regeneron is making significant contributions to improving the health of humans around the world.
16. Bayer
- Prescription sales for 2021: $20.119 billion
Bayer is a brand that is easily recognized by most American households because of The Aspirin and other products the company has provided for decades. It is a European pharmaceutical company headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. Total Rx sales for 2021 were $20.119 billion with research and development spending of $3.716 billion. The leading drugs in sales were Ozempic at $5.366 billion, followed by NovoRapid at $2.538 billion and Victoza at $2.397 billion. The company has more than forty drugs in the pipeline for cancer drugs and some to treat heart problems.
15.Novo Nordisk
- Prescription sales for 2021: $21 billion
Get ReSkilled reports that Norvo Nordisk is the 15th largest pharmaceutical company in the world by revenue. The company spent nearly $3 billion on research and development for its leading diabetes drug candidates, helping approximately 35 million patients. Its headquarters are located in Bagsvaerd, Denmark. Saxenda achieved rapid international growth, along with Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, an obesity control treatment. Novo Nordisk is a company that focuses on sustainability and environmental concerns in the production of its products and remains committed to reducing CO2 emissions.
14. Gilead Sciences
- 2021 Rx Sales: $24.70 billion
Gilead Sciences is the 14th largest pharmaceutical company in the world by 2022. Its headquarters are in Foster City, California, USA. At the end of 2020, its prescription drug sales soared with strong sales of the covid therapy drug -19 Veklury, also known as Remdesivir. Gilead Sciences earned a place in the history books with the first therapeutic drug for COVID-19 to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2020. Sales continued to rise through 2021.
The company experienced a growth spurt when it acquired MYR GmbH in 2021, after acquiring Forty-Seven, an immuno-oncology company the previous year. It spent more than $5 billion on research and development of current treatments. However, the pandemic hurt sales of its medicines for the treatment of hepatitis C and HIV. However, Gilead Sciences has become a leader in its production of treatments for covid-19.
13. Amgen Inc.
- Prescription sales for 2021: $26 billion
Amgen Inc is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, USA. Sales of its Lumakras/Lumykras drugs generated revenue that pushed Amgen Inc to the top of its game with record revenue for 2021. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States approved the drug as the first of its kind for the treatment of certain types of small cell lung cancer. A second drug called Tezsire has been approved by the FDA to treat some types of severe asthma. Amgen also expanded the use of the drug Otezla, known as apremilast, for the treatment of all types of plaque psoriasis, and sales also increased with the new indications approved for its prescription to patients.
12. Takeda
- Prescription sales for 2021: $28.30 billion
Takeda is a Japanese pharmaceutical company that maintains a global presence in 80 countries with a full portfolio of clinical-stage assets. One of its main drugs is Livtencity, also known as Maribavir. The drug treats infections that occur after transplants. Other FDA-approved pharmaceuticals on the market today include Exkivity or Mobocertinib to treat non-small cell lung cancer and Takhzyro for the prevention of an inherited medical problem called angioedema. The company spent more than $4 billion on research and development and continues to create candidate treatments for a broad spectrum of human medical problems.
11. Eli Lilly
- Prescription sales for 2021: $28.30 billion
Eli Lilly is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The company is one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in the United States. It spent more than $7 billion on research and development for its massive line of treatments for the Covid-19 virus, oncology, immunology, diabetes, neuroscience, and other treatments and therapies. He is dedicated to investigating therapies that are resistant to variants of evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the BA.2 version of the Omicron variant. Some of its best-selling drugs in recent years include Taltz, Jardiance, Versenio, Olumiant, and bebtelovimiab. Drugs currently in the pipeline at various stages of development include lebrikizumab, lebrikizumab, pirtobrutinib, donanemab, and tripeptide.
10. GlaxoSmithKline
- Prescription sales for 2021: $32.10 billion
ProClinical lists GlaxoSmithKline as the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world by 2022. The company is based in the United Kingdom. GSK is trending upwards in revenue with its huge portfolio of vaccine, biologic and pharmaceutical drugs and therapies. with a stream of treatments receiving FDA approval for distribution, and a steady stream awaiting approval.
A leading drug for 2021 was its antibody treatment for Covid-19, called Xevudy. GSK is constantly merging with other successful pharmaceutical companies, most recently Glaxo Wellcome plc and SmithKline Beecham plc in 2000. Plans are underway to create Haleon this year. It is a new pharmaceutical product under the GSK umbrella that will result from its planned spin-off with the consumer healthcare segment of the business. However, GSK’s new focus will be on the development of special medicines and vaccines.
9. Sanofi S.A.
- Prescription sales for 2021: $36.55 billion
Sanofi’s headquarters are located in Paris, France, classified as a multinational pharmaceutical company. It is the ninth largest in the world ranked by annual revenue. Its products are sold in more than 100 countries around the world. Sanofi SA researches and develops pharmaceutical products for vaccines, specialty care, and general medicine for the healthcare industries worldwide. Some of the leading products are Dupixen, a treatment for the skin condition Eczema. They did well in sales of influenza vaccines during the third quarter, with sales declining as influenza vaccination rates declined in 2021. However, they also produce therapeutics and treatments for immunology, inflammation, and oncology, with many drug candidates currently on the market.
8. AstraZeneca
- Prescription sales for 2021: $37.4 billion
AstraZeneca’s headquarters are located in Cambridge, England, UK. The world’s eighth largest pharmaceutical company has seen “double-digit growth” in prescription drug sales with treatments for oncology, respiratory problems, gastrointestinal disorders, infections, inflammation, cardiovascular treatments, and neurological disorders. AstraZeneca’s focus is broad, covering multiple segments of the healthcare industry with the acquisition of numerous smaller pharmaceutical companies, including Alexion, opening doors for further research and development of treatments for rare diseases. However, the leading drug for 2021 was Evusheld to prevent Covid-19 infections in people with a weak immune response.
7. Merck & Co., Inc.
- Prescription sales for 2021: $42.74 billion
Merck & Co. Inc is headquartered in New Jersey, USA. It is the 7th largest pharmaceutical company ranked by revenue by 2022. Merck is engaged in the research, development, and sales of pharmaceuticals for the health and welfare of animals as well as for humans. Its leading product for human treatment is Keytruda, a therapy that helps prolong the lives of people living with melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, cervix, stomach, head, neck, and lung. It became the leading product with box office sales, along with increased sales of hospital products for intensive care, vaccines, and drugs to treat diabetes and cancer. However, Merck has plans to acquire Acceleron Pharma for a price of $11.5 billion,
6. Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Prescription sales for 2021: $46.4 billion
Bristol-Myers Squibb is another old pharmaceutical company that has been in business for 135 years as of 2022. The headquarters are in New York City, New York. It is a global player in the pharmaceutical industry, known for its innovations in treatments for hematology, immunology, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Its main product is a stroke drug called Eliquis. Other high-revenue generating products are its new immune-oncology therapies, along with continued high sales of previous drugs in various areas of health and wellness regimens.
However, BMS is the sixth largest pharmaceutical company in the world by 2022, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it move up a few notches soon. Additionally, its research and development segment is working on dozens of new products that will become candidates for FDA approval. It is a strong and stable company that continues to advance the improvement of medicines and treatments to improve human health and longevity.
5. F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
- Prescription sales for 2021: $48.47 billion
Fierce Pharma reports that Hoff-mann=La Roche AG ranked among the world’s five largest pharmaceutical companies, ranked by revenue. It is more commonly known as Roche Pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, the company established its global status with its dual focus on pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche AG is a bit different from other companies in that it functions as a holding company with multiple pharmaceutical companies under its umbrella and as an investment. In addition, sales rankings are high due to its three “megablockbuster” biosimilar drugs, developed to treat cancer. However, they are the latest in their innovative line of cancer-fighting drugs.
The company confirmed that it is in the process of producing even more new drugs in the cancer treatment field as candidates for FDA approval. Roche works in the two main areas of antibody and biosimilar medicines. It’s worth noting that Roche was previously the world’s richest pharmaceutical company until recently when it slipped four spaces on the list. Competition in the pharmaceutical industry is high, and the companies in the top ten are likely to continue playing musical chairs with ups and downs in revenue for years to come. Fortunately, Roche has a chance to move back up the list due to its 14 new molecular entity class treatments that are entering late-stage trials.
4.Novartis International AG
- Prescription sales for 2021: $51.60 billion
Novartis International AG is in Basel, Switzerland. The company has a long history of research and development of innovative advances in medicines dating back more than 250 years. Its flagship product is Entresto, approved for the treatment of heart failure and, recently, for the treatment of arthritis. However, other top-selling drugs include the spinal muscular atrophy drug Cosentyx, Zolgensma, for the treatment of MS, Kesimpta, for the treatment of severe aplastic anemia, and Promacta/Revolade for the treatment of breast cancer.
3. Johnson & Johnson
- Prescription sales for 2021: $52.80 billion
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine won FDA approval in the first quarter of 2021, rocketing its initial sales for the year but falling with issues related to side effects. In addition, J&J has a long history of pharmaceutical research, development, and production of consumer health products and medical devices for worldwide distribution. The Brunswick, NJ-based pharmaceutical company is the third-highest earner for 2022 with its leading product Temfya, for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and plaque psoriasis. Darzalex is a leader in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Another best seller is Stelara, for the treatment of inflammation problems related to the immune system. Nevertheless,
2. AbbVie Inc.
- Prescription sales for 2021: $56.20 billion
AbbVie Inc is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The company is a spin-off from Abbott Pharmaceuticals. It rose to become the second largest company in global prescription drug sales by 2022. However, AbbVie has been around since 2013 with an impressive track record of success since being spun off from Abbott. Its research and development divisions employ more than 47,000 experts in drug and treatment development. However, the company focuses on finding treatments for diseases that are difficult to cure. They offer hope for millions in need of medical solutions. Its leading product is Humira, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that emerged as a blockbuster drug on the world market. Sales are increasing for other areas of its focus in immunology, neuroscience, and oncology. AbbVie Inc has R&D centers in more than 70 countries.
1. Pfizer Inc.
- Prescription sales for 2021: $81.30 billion
Pfizer Inc is the number one pharmaceutical company in revenue. He jumped five places over the past year to emerge as the biggest. Pfizer’s vaccine for Covid-19 has been a boost in sales. It focuses on biopharmaceuticals. Most of their work is focused on discovering and developing, obtaining FDA approval, and manufacturing and marketing their products globally. He is currently working with BioNTech to produce a vaccine for shingles based on mRNA discovery. The company manufactures and markets treatments for neurological diseases, oncology, immunology, and cardiology. Paxlovid was its main drug, securing FDA approval for the treatment of Covid-19, with Comirnaty its best-selling Covid-19 vaccine.