Small pharma tops 2014 most profitable companies ranking

In first place Amag with a profit margin of 109%

What are the most profitable pharmaceutical companies of 2014? Surprisingly, at the top of the ranking compiled by Motley Fool there are not big names, but small companies. As Amag Pharmaceuticals, who built her fortune on an anemia drug called Feraheme, which made her number one. Last year, its profit margin stood at 109%.

cOf course, the result was due to a one-time tax benefit that boosted net income. An unrepeatable feat. There is then PDL BioPharma: Its 2014 margin was around 66%, says the Motley Fool. It's not a typical pharmaceutical company, though: most of its revenues come from royalties: for example, 71% of 2014 revenues came from a drug licensed to Roche's unit, Genentech.

The third company is the most interesting: it is still small, with just $57.4 million in revenues in the first quarter. But the success of Enanta Pharmaceuticals depends on a widespread disease – hepatitis C – and in particular the royalties on Abbvie's newly approved drug cocktail Viekira Pak. For example, as much as $50 million came from milestones for the European approval of the treatment. Its 2014 profit margin was 65%.

The only two midsize pharmaceutical companies with attractive margins are Shire and Gilead Sciences. Shire's margin was 56%, while Gilead stands at 48%.

Barbara Di Chiara – 11 May 2015 – PharmaKronos