Healthcare

Visualizing the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies

Published

2 years ago

September 17, 2021

Anshool Deshmukh

Graphics/Design:

Rosey Eason

Bubble map of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world

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Who are the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies?

Some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies have played a central role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it’s likely no surprise that the pandemic has also been great for many healthcare businesses. In fact, in 2020 alone, the world’s 50 largest pharmaceutical companies still combined for a whopping $851 billion in revenues.

In this graphic, using data from Companies Market Cap, we list the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by market capitalization. It’s worth noting this list also includes healthcare companies that work closely with pharmaceuticals, including biotech, pharmaceutical retailers, clinical laboratories, etc.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this graphic was missing some key companies such as GSK and AbbVie. They were unfortunately not included in the original source and we are now working to make sure there were no other smaller omissions. Thanks to all that sent in corrections.

The Pharmaceutical Leaders

To start, here are the top five biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world at the moment by market capitalization:

1. Johnson & Johnson

The pharmaceutical and consumer goods giant is worth $428.7 billion in market cap. They developed the third vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. and were named among the TIME100 Most Influential Companies List in 2021.

2. Roche

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant is at the forefront of oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and neuroscience. In 2019, Roche’s pharma segment sales rose by a healthy 16% to $53 billion.

3. Pfizer

Despite being the leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer in North America, Pfizer slid in the rankings to third place. The company has recently gained momentum, especially in the past quarter, with Q2’2021 revenues of $19.0 billion, reflecting a 86% operational growth from 2020.

4. Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly has taken a significant step towards establishing itself as a pharmaceutical industry leader. Having a market cap value of $125 billion in 2019, Eli Lilly has jumped to a current value of $214.9 billion, a significant growth of 72%.

5. Novartis

The second-biggest pharmaceutical company out of Switzerland, Novartis has been the face of the pharma industry for about 25 years. The primary manufacturer for the most recognizable drugs on the market pulled in a revenue of over $48 billion in 2020, a 3% increase compared to 2019.

Here’s how all the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world stack up against each other:

Company Rank	Company Name	Market Cap Value	Country
1	Johnson & Johnson JNJ	$428.66 B	🇺🇸 USA
2	Roche RHHBY	$320.41 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
3	Pfizer PFE	$219.39 B	🇺🇸 USA
4	Eli Lilly LLY	$208.99 B	🇺🇸 USA
5	Novartis NVS	$207.70 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
6	AbbVie ABBV	$202.60 B	🇺🇸 USA
7	Merck MRK	$191.67 B	🇺🇸 USA
8	Novo Nordisk NVO	$187.83 B	🇩🇰 Denmark
9	Astrazeneca AZN	$152.28 B	🇬🇧 UK
10	Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY	$145.80 B	🇺🇸 USA
11	Amgen AMGN	$136.50 B	🇺🇸 USA
12	Sanofi SNY	$130.37 B	🇫🇷 France
13	CVS Health CVS	$110.49 B	🇺🇸 USA
14	GlaxoSmithKline GSK	$104.30 B	🇬🇧 UK
15	CSL CSL.AX	$103.10 B	🇦🇺 Australia
16	Gilead Sciences GILD	$83.62 B	🇺🇸 USA
17	Moderna MRNA	$83.25 B	🇺🇸 USA
18	Merck KGaA MRK.DE	$80.61 B	🇩🇪 Germany
19	Bayer BAYZF	$59.43 B	🇩🇪 Germany
20	Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine 600276.SS	$58.51 B	🇨🇳 China
21	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN	$55.83 B	🇺🇸 USA
22	Biogen BIIB	$55.00 B	🇺🇸 USA
23	BioNTech BNTX	$54.23 B	🇩🇪 Germany
24	Takeda Pharmaceutical TAK	$52.67 B	🇯🇵 Japan
25	Lonza LONN.SW	$52.16 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
26	Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA	$45.05 B	🇺🇸 USA
27	Celltrion 068270.KS	$33.80 B	🇰🇷 S. Korea
28	Astellas Pharma ALPMF	$33.42 B	🇯🇵 Japan
29	BeiGene BGNE	$31.65 B	🇨🇳 China
30	Eisai 4523.T	$31.20 B	🇯🇵 Japan
31	West Pharma WST	$26.59 B	🇺🇸 USA
32	Hansoh Pharma 3692.HK	$26.00 B	🇨🇳 China
33	LabCorp LH	$25.97 B	🇺🇸 USA
34	Otsuka Holdings 4578.T	$23.15 B	🇯🇵 Japan
35	Horizon Therapeutics HZNP	$21.13 B	🇮🇪 Ireland
36	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ALNY	$20.42 B	🇺🇸 USA
37	kyowa Kirin 4151.T	$18.85 B	🇯🇵 Japan
38	Catalent CTLT	$18.74 B	🇺🇸 USA
39	Sino Biopharmaceutical 1177.HK	$18.48 B	🇭🇰 Hong Kong
40	Bio-Techne TECH	$17.25 B	🇺🇸 USA
41	PPD PPD	$16.26 B	🇺🇸 USA
42	Argenx ARGX	$16.03 B	🇳🇱 Netherlands
43	Shionogi 4507.T	$15.29 B	🇯🇵 Japan
44	Dr. Reddy's RDY	$11.88 B	🇮🇳 India
45	Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA	$11.21 B	🇮🇱 Israel
46	Ono Pharmaceutical 4528.T	$11.12 B	🇯🇵 Japan
47	ICON plc ICLR	$11.09 B	🇮🇪 Ireland
48	Bausch Health BHC	$10.47 B	🇨🇦 Canada
49	CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP	$10.42 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
50	Curevac CVAC	$10.33 B	🇩🇪 Germany
51	Hualan Biological Engineering 002007.SZ	$10.31 B	🇨🇳 China
52	Vifor Pharma VIFN.SW	$9.49 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
53	Neurocrine Biosciences NBIX	$9.45 B	🇺🇸 USA
54	Sinopharm 1099.HK	$9.42 B	🇨🇳 China
55	BridgeBio Pharma BBIO	$8.89 B	🇺🇸 USA
56	Cadila Healthcare CADILAHC.NS	$8.59 B	🇮🇳 India
57	Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma 4506.T	$8.16 B	🇯🇵 Japan
58	Tilray TLRY	$7.89 B	🇨🇦 Canada
59	Ascendis Pharma ASND	$7.51 B	🇩🇰 Denmark
60	Evotec EVT.F	$7.19 B	🇩🇪 Germany
61	Lupin Limited LUPIN.NS	$7.04 B	🇮🇳 India
62	Gland Pharma GLAND.NS	$7.01 B	🇮🇳 India
63	Exelixis EXEL	$6.95 B	🇺🇸 USA
64	GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH	$6.81 B	🇬🇧 UK
65	KOBAYASHI Pharmaceutical 4967.T	$6.78 B	🇯🇵 Japan
66	Torrent Pharmaceuticals TORNTPHARM.NS	$6.61 B	🇮🇳 India
67	Biocon BIOCON.NS	$6.43 B	🇮🇳 India
68	PeptiDream 4587.T	$6.32 B	🇯🇵 Japan
69	Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT	$6.25 B	🇺🇸 USA
70	Perrigo PRGO	$6.21 B	🇮🇪 Ireland
71	Orion Corporation ORNAV.HE	$6.11 B	🇫🇮 Finland
72	Lundbeck LDB.F	$6.04 B	🇩🇰 Denmark
73	AbCellera ABCL	$5.87 B	🇨🇦 Canada
74	Adaptive Biotechnologies ADPT	$5.69 B	🇺🇸 USA
75	Intellia Therapeutics NTLA	$5.62 B	🇺🇸 USA
76	Santen Pharmaceutical 4536.T	$5.49 B	🇯🇵 Japan
77	Nippon Shinyaku 4516.T	$5.46 B	🇯🇵 Japan
78	Beam Therapeutics BEAM	$5.43 B	🇺🇸 USA
79	Reata Pharmaceuticals RETA	$5.15 B	🇺🇸 USA
80	Swedish Orphan Biovitrum SOBI.ST	$5.13 B	🇸🇪 Sweden
81	BB Biotech BION.SW	$5.08 B	🇨🇭 Switzerland
82	Alkem Laboratories ALKEM.NS	$5.00 B	🇮🇳 India
83	Abbott India ABBOTINDIA.NS	$4.69 B	🇮🇳 India
84	Laurus Labs LAURUSLABS.NS	$4.44 B	🇮🇳 India
85	Taisho Pharmaceutical 4581.T	$4.39 B	🇯🇵 Japan
86	Hanmi Pharmaceutical 008930.KS	$4.22 B	🇰🇷 S. Korea
87	Alkermes ALKS	$3.87 B	🇮🇪 Ireland
88	Karuna Therapeutics KRTX	$3.71 B	🇺🇸 USA
89	Shinpoong Pharm 019170.KS	$3.65 B	🇰🇷 S. Korea
90	NantKwest NK	$3.55 B	🇺🇸 USA
91	Ipca Laboratories IPCALAB.NS	$3.41 B	🇮🇳 India
92	Nektar Therapeutics NKTR	$3.02 B	🇺🇸 USA
93	BioCryst Pharmaceuticals BCRX	$3.01 B	🇺🇸 USA
94	Vericel VCEL	$2.96 B	🇺🇸 USA
95	Dicerna Pharmaceuticals DRNA	$2.84 B	🇺🇸 USA
96	Rocket Pharmaceuticals RCKT	$2.74 B	🇺🇸 USA
97	Axsome Therapeutics AXSM	$2.65 B	🇺🇸 USA
98	Natco Pharma NATCOPHARM.NS	$2.63 B	🇮🇳 India
99	Alembic Pharmaceuticals APLLTD.NS	$2.59 B	🇮🇳 India
100	Editas Medicine EDIT	$2.54 B	🇺🇸 USA

World’s Largest Pharmaceutical Exporters and Importers

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), these countries exported the most number of pharmaceuticals in the year 2019:

Rank	Country	Export Value (US$B)
1	🇩🇪 Germany	$91.4
2	🇨🇭 Switzerland	$84.8
3	🇺🇸 U.S.	$55.7
4	🇧🇪 Belgium	$55.7
5	🇮🇪 Ireland	$55.4

In contrast, here are the biggest importers over the same period.

Rank	Country	Import Value (US$B)
1	🇺🇸 U.S.	$132.4
2	🇩🇪 Germany	$59.4
3	🇧🇪 Belgium	$47.3
4	🇨🇳 China	$35.7
5	🇳🇱 Netherlands	$33.5

This position is hardly surprising for the U.S., where six of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies are headquartered. The country also captures 45% of the global market.

The Future of Pharmaceutical Companies

If the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that in building a patient-centered future, the pharmaceutical industry plays a key role. It has to constantly find new ways to customize medicines while researching and developing new tools and drugs.

By embracing disruptive technologies like 3D printed drugs, artificial intelligence guided therapies, and preventive medicine while working with regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical companies will benefit from having a digital revolution.

Furthermore, emerging markets will have a more significant say in the global pharmaceutical market in the coming years. Even though ‘big pharma’ will keep raking in the massive profits they do every year, their reliance on countries like Brazil and India for research and drug production will significantly impact the years to come.

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Healthcare

Charted: Average Years Left to Live by Age

Visualizing the number of years left to live for Americans at every age, reveals the broader trends in American life expectancy.

Published

7 days ago

November 29, 2023

Pallavi Rao

Chart showing the average years left to live at every age for men and women.

How Many Years Do You Have Left to Live?

At the start of the 19th century, when there fewer than 1 billion humans on the earth, global life expectancy at birth stood at roughly 29 years.

This is a startlingly low figure—because life expectancy is a statistical projection of how many more years a person can expect to live, based on the mortality rates at the time. And since the infant mortality rate in particular was so high, life expectancies accurately summarized the low likelihood of many babies living to adulthood.

However, since the 1920s, life expectancy across all ages has improved leaps and bounds, thanks to rapid advancements in nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation.

We visualized the current American life expectancy by age and gender, using data from the Office of Social Security, which bases their current projections on 2020 mortality rates.

American Life Expectancy at Every Age

A key takeaway with life expectancy is that it increases as one gets older. This is easily seen in the table below, which lists the remaining years left to live at a given age for an American male and the projected life expectancy.

Age	Years Remaining (Men)	Life Expectancy (Men)
0	74.12	74.12
1	73.55	74.55
2	72.58	74.58
3	71.60	74.60
4	70.62	74.62
5	69.63	74.63
6	68.64	74.64
7	67.65	74.65
8	66.65	74.65
9	65.66	74.66
10	64.67	74.67
11	63.68	74.68
12	62.69	74.69
13	61.70	74.70
14	60.71	74.71
15	59.73	74.73
16	58.76	74.76
17	57.79	74.79
18	56.84	74.84
19	55.90	74.90
20	54.97	74.97
21	54.04	75.04
22	53.12	75.12
23	52.21	75.21
24	51.30	75.30
25	50.39	75.39
26	49.48	75.48
27	48.57	75.57
28	47.66	75.66
29	46.76	75.76
30	45.86	75.86
31	44.97	75.97
32	44.07	76.07
33	43.18	76.18
34	42.29	76.29
35	41.39	76.39
36	40.50	76.50
37	39.62	76.62
38	38.73	76.73
39	37.85	76.85
40	36.97	76.97
41	36.09	77.09
42	35.21	77.21
43	34.34	77.34
44	33.46	77.46
45	32.59	77.59
46	31.73	77.73
47	30.87	77.87
48	30.01	78.01
49	29.17	78.17
50	28.33	78.33
51	27.50	78.50
52	26.67	78.67
53	25.86	78.86
54	25.06	79.06
55	24.27	79.27
56	23.48	79.48
57	22.71	79.71
58	21.95	79.95
59	21.21	80.21
60	20.47	80.47
61	19.74	80.74
62	19.03	81.03
63	18.32	81.32
64	17.63	81.63
65	16.94	81.94
66	16.26	82.26
67	15.58	82.58
68	14.91	82.91
69	14.24	83.24
70	13.59	83.59
71	12.94	83.94
72	12.30	84.30
73	11.67	84.67
74	11.05	85.05
75	10.46	85.46
76	9.88	85.88
77	9.32	86.32
78	8.77	86.77
79	8.25	87.25
80	7.74	87.74
81	7.25	88.25
82	6.77	88.77
83	6.31	89.31
84	5.88	89.88
85	5.47	90.47
86	5.07	91.07
87	4.70	91.70
88	4.35	92.35
89	4.02	93.02
90	3.72	93.72
91	3.44	94.44
92	3.18	95.18
93	2.96	95.96
94	2.75	96.75
95	2.57	97.57
96	2.42	98.42
97	2.28	99.28
98	2.15	100.15
99	2.04	101.04
100	1.93	101.93
101	1.83	102.83
102	1.73	103.73
103	1.63	104.63
104	1.54	105.54
105	1.45	106.45
106	1.36	107.36
107	1.27	108.27
108	1.18	109.18
109	1.10	110.10
110	1.02	111.02
111	0.95	111.95
112	0.88	112.88
113	0.82	113.82
114	0.76	114.76
115	0.70	115.70
116	0.65	116.65
117	0.60	117.60
118	0.56	118.56
119	0.52	119.52
120	0.48	120.48

At birth, an average American baby boy can expect to live till just past 74. But if the boy reaches adulthood, then at 21 he might live to a full year more, past 75. This trend persists even towards the end of life when the years we have left drop rapidly, influenced by the higher likelihood of death.

American women, on the other hand, have a higher life expectancy than men. At birth the gap is close to six years, narrowing steadily to around one year by 85.

Age	Years Remaining (Women)	Life Expectancy (Women)
0	79.78	79.78
1	79.17	80.17
2	78.19	80.19
3	77.21	80.21
4	76.22	80.22
5	75.23	80.23
6	74.24	80.24
7	73.25	80.25
8	72.25	80.25
9	71.26	80.26
10	70.27	80.27
11	69.27	80.27
12	68.28	80.28
13	67.29	80.29
14	66.30	80.30
15	65.31	80.31
16	64.32	80.32
17	63.34	80.34
18	62.36	80.36
19	61.38	80.38
20	60.41	80.41
21	59.44	80.44
22	58.47	80.47
23	57.50	80.50
24	56.54	80.54
25	55.58	80.58
26	54.61	80.61
27	53.66	80.66
28	52.70	80.70
29	51.74	80.74
30	50.79	80.79
31	49.84	80.84
32	48.89	80.89
33	47.94	80.94
34	47.00	81.00
35	46.06	81.06
36	45.12	81.12
37	44.18	81.18
38	43.24	81.24
39	42.31	81.31
40	41.38	81.38
41	40.45	81.45
42	39.52	81.52
43	38.60	81.60
44	37.68	81.68
45	36.76	81.76
46	35.85	81.85
47	34.94	81.94
48	34.04	82.04
49	33.14	82.14
50	32.24	82.24
51	31.35	82.35
52	30.47	82.47
53	29.59	82.59
54	28.72	82.72
55	27.86	82.86
56	27.01	83.01
57	26.16	83.16
58	25.32	83.32
59	24.49	83.49
60	23.67	83.67
61	22.85	83.85
62	22.04	84.04
63	21.24	84.24
64	20.45	84.45
65	19.66	84.66
66	18.88	84.88
67	18.10	85.10
68	17.34	85.34
69	16.58	85.58
70	15.82	85.82
71	15.08	86.08
72	14.36	86.36
73	13.64	86.64
74	12.94	86.94
75	12.26	87.26
76	11.60	87.60
77	10.95	87.95
78	10.31	88.31
79	9.70	88.70
80	9.10	89.10
81	8.53	89.53
82	7.98	89.98
83	7.44	90.44
84	6.93	90.93
85	6.44	91.44
86	5.99	91.99
87	5.55	92.55
88	5.15	93.15
89	4.76	93.76
90	4.41	94.41
91	4.08	95.08
92	3.78	95.78
93	3.51	96.51
94	3.27	97.27
95	3.05	98.05
96	2.85	98.85
97	2.68	99.68
98	2.52	100.52
99	2.37	101.37
100	2.23	102.23
101	2.09	103.09
102	1.96	103.96
103	1.84	104.84
104	1.72	105.72
105	1.61	106.61
106	1.51	107.51
107	1.41	108.41
108	1.32	109.32
109	1.24	110.24
110	1.16	111.16
111	1.09	112.09
112	1.02	113.02
113	0.96	113.96
114	0.90	114.90
115	0.85	115.85
116	0.80	116.80
117	0.75	117.75
118	0.70	118.70
119	0.66	119.66
120	0.62	120.62

Interestingly, women outlive men in nearly every country in the world, due to a mix of sociological, behavioral, and biological reasons.

COVID-19: Reversing A Decade of Increasing American Life Expectancy

While the current American life expectancy at birth seems reasonably high, it is nearly two years lower than the 2022 figure which used the 2019 mortality rate. It is also lower than the life expectancy at birth in 2009, which used 2005 mortality rate.

Year	Life Expectancy at Birth (Men)	Life Expectancy at Birth (Women)
2009	74.12	79.95
2014	76.10	80.94
2019	76.04	80.99
2023	74.12	79.78

American mortality rates went up 17% between 2019–2020, in part because of COVID-19, in turn affecting life expectancy. The U.S. also had a higher COVID-19 mortality rate compared to its peers two years after the pandemic first struck.

Thus, American life expectancy may not improve immediately to 2019 levels, which can affect insurance premiums, pension benefits, and plans.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: Office of Social Security, U.S. Government.

Note: The life expectancy at a given age is the average remaining number of years expected prior to death for a person at that exact age, born on January 1, using the mortality rates for 2020 over the course of their remaining life.