Thanks to Sovaldi, it has more than doubled its revenue from 10 to 24.5 billion dollars. For 2014: 1. Johnson & Johnson 2. Novartis 3. Roche 4. Pfizer 5. Sanofi 6. Merck. 7. GlaxoSmithKline 8. AstraZeneca 9. Bayer 10. Gilead Sciences 11. Teva 12. Amgen 13. AbbVie 14. Eli Lilly 15. Bristol Myers Squibb
It comes as no surprise that the names at the top of the list of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, in terms of turnover. Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Roche and Pfizer have led the league for a couple of years, albeit in varying order. Yet towards the bottom of the top 10, there was a 'changing of the guard'.
For the first time, a biotech company has unseated one of Big Pharma's biggest names: Eli Lilly & Co, which clung to its 10th spot last year, is now outside the top 10, replaced by Gilead Sciences, ago know 'Fierce Pharma'. Thanks to its blockbuster hepatitis C superdrug Sovaldi, Gilead's revenue more than doubled from 2013 to $24.5 billion from $10.8 billion.
The rest of the top 10 is populated by the 'usual suspects' even if the various positions change slightly for 2014: 1. Johnson & J
ohnson 2. Novartis 3. Roche 4. Pfizer 5. Sanofi 6. Merck. 7. GlaxoSmithKline 8. AstraZeneca 9. Bayer 10. Gilead Sciences 11. Teva 12. Amgen 13. AbbVie 14. Eli Lilly 15. Bristol Myers Squibb. The latter is a Big Pharma name that had been absent from the list for a few years, but has now made its reappearance.
However, experts estimate that in 2015 there will be a new shuffling of the cards: Bms will lose its patent protection on the antipsychotic blockbuster Abilify, and Teva itself for its bestseller against multiple sclerosis Copaxone. But the biggest change could come from the fact that GSK and Novartis recently terminated their 'business swap' deal. And there is also a new entry in sight: Actavis which is buying Allergan for 66 billion dollars, entering the top 10 by right.
