The World’s 50 Largest Pharmaceutical Companies

Globally, big pharma revenues have grown by more than half a trillion dollars since 2012, driven by an aging global population.

American drugmakers make up the greatest market share worldwide by far, supported by high prices in a less regulated market. Yet with 190 drug patents expiring in the next decade, many companies face steep revenue losses at the hands of generic competitors.

This graphic, from Pranav Gavali, shows the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Ranked: The Top 50 Pharmaceutical Giants

Together, the 50 biggest drugmakers make up a combined $4.7 trillion in market capitalization.

With a market cap of over $578 billion, American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is the world’s most valuable, known for diabetes medications and its newly-launched weight-loss drug. The average price of insulin in the U.S. is more than five times higher than other countries.

Ranking in second is Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, with a $453 billion market cap.

The 100-year old company began by making insulin, a newly discovered drug in the 1920s. Like Eli Lilly, it recently launched a weight-loss drug, Ozempic, originally used to treat diabetes. As drug sales soared, the company briefly became the most valuable in Europe.

According to BMO, the weight-loss drug market will be worth $100 billion by 2035.

As a major drug exporter to the U.S., Japan is home to the largest pharma companies in Asia. In fact, it is the third-largest pharmaceutical market in the world. A number of large U.S. pharma companies including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Bristol Myers Squibb have subsidiaries in the country.

Of the top 50 pharma companies, U.S. drugmakers make up 56% of global market capitalization, followed by Europe at 34%, and Asia with a 10% market share.

Facing a Cliff

With scores of patents set to expire by 2030, big pharma companies could see a $200 billion loss in revenues due to fierce competition from generics.

As a result, the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies globally are at risk of losing 46% of revenues. Adding to this, the U.S. government announced they may remove patent protection if certain drugs are too expensive in efforts to clamp down on high drug prices.

This may come as a benefit to consumers, especially in America. With some of the highest prescription costs in the world, they are as much as three times more expensive than other countries, averaging $1,432 per person in 2021.

The median price for newly-launched drugs in the U.S. in 2022 was over $200,000 per year—up from $2,115 in 2008.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.