Top 10 Largest Pharma Companies in the World

Pharmaceutical companies belong to the most powerful businesses in the world. After all, they are developing and making the medicine that cure or treat the many illnesses and disorders millions of people are suffering from. While there are many pharmaceutical companies out there, it’s the biggest of them, known as Big Pharma, that really make the difference when it comes to researching, developing, and distributing the most important drugs to people all over the world.

The following ranking lists the top 10 largest pharma companies in the world by revenue. All these companies have sales of well over billions of dollars from a variety of different fields of medicine.

Note: The Top 10 pharma companies ranking only counts the revenue a company made from pharmaceutical sales. Other business branches the company may be involved in, are not looked at here.

The 10 Largest Pharmaceutical Companies in the World 2021

1. Roche

Roche

Pharma revenue: $49.9 billion*

Year of Foundation: 1896
Based in: Basel, Switzerland

Known pharma products/brands: Valium (for anxiety disorders), Xolair (for severe asthma), Rocephin (antibiotic), Tarceva (for lung cancer & pancreatic cancer), Herceptin (for breast cancer), Rohypnol (for insomnia), Lariam (for malaria), Aurorix (for depression & social anxiety), Avastin ( Invirase (for HIV), Ocrevus (for multiple sclerosis), Hemlibra (for hemophilia A)

* Roche is also a leading manufacturer of medical diagnostic devices, but revenue from this branch is not included in the pharma ranking

2. Novartis

Novartis

Pharma revenue: $48.7 billion

Year of Foundation: 1996 (through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz)
Based in: Basel, Switzerland

Known pharma products/brands: Optaflu (vaccine against Influenza/the flu), Cosentyx (for psoriasis), Gleevec (chemotherapeutic for various cancers), Tasigna (for blood cancer), Diovan, (for high blood pressure), Lucentis (for macular degeneration), Sandostatin (for acromegaly), Gilenya (for multiple sclerosis), Exelon (for Alzheimer’s disease), Ritalin (for ADHD), Galvus (for type-2 diabetes), Comtan (for Parkinson’s disease)

3. Merck & Co.

Merck & Co.

Pharma revenue: $48.0 billion

Year of Foundation: 1917
Based in: Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA

Known pharma products/brands: Gardasil (vaccine against HPV), ProQuad (vaccine against measles, mumps, Rubella virus & chickenpox), Keytruda (for various cancers), Invanz (antibiotic), Januvia (for type-2 diabetes), Zetia (for high blood cholesterol), Isentress (for HIV), Invanz (antibiotic), Mexsana (for itching & chafing skin)

4. Pfizer

Pfizer

Pharma revenue: $47.6 billion

Year of Foundation: 1849
Based in: New York City, New York, USA

Known pharma products/brands: Prevnar 13 (vaccine against pneumococcal infections), BNT162b2 (vaccine against Covid-19), Lyrica (for epilepsy, neuropathic pain, anxiety), Xeljanz (for rheumatoid arthritis & ulcerative colitis), Diflucan (for fungal infections), Flagyl (antibiotic), Norvasc (for high blood pressure & coronary artery disease), Zoloft (antidepressant)

5. GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline

Pharma revenue: $46.7 billion

Year of Foundation: 2000 (through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome & SmithKline Beecham)
Based in: London, England, UK

Known pharma products/brands: Mosquirix (vaccine against Malaria), Fluarix (vaccine against Influenza/the flu), Voltaren (for pain relief & inflammatory disorders), Zyloprim (for hyperuricemia), Amoxil (antibiotic), Purinethol (for blood cancer, Crohn’s disease & ulcerative colitis), Thioguanine (for blood cancer), Zantac (for GERD, peptic ulcer disease & Zollinger–Ellison syndrome), Retrovir (for HIV)

6. AbbVie

AbbVie

Pharma revenue: $45.8 billion

Year of Foundation: 2013
Based in: Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Known pharma products/brands: Humira (for rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis & psoriasis), Imbruvica (for blood cancer), Venclexta (for blood cancer), Kaletra (for HIV), Norvir (for HIV), Maviret (for Hepatitis C), Skyrizi (for psoriasis)

7. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson

Pharma revenue: $45.6 billion*

Year of Foundation: 1886
Based in: New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

Known pharma products/brands: Remicade (for rheumatoid arthritis), Stelara (for psoriasis), Concerta (for ADHD), Velcade (for blood cancer), Zytiga (for prostate cancer), Tylenol (for pain relief, fever, headaches & allergies), Benadryl (for allergies), Zyrtec (for hay fever), Benylin (for flu & coughing), Imodium (for inflammatory bowel disease), Invega (for schizophrenia), Darzalex (for multiple myeloma)

* Johnson & Johnson is also a leading manufacturer of medical devices, but revenue from this branch is not included in the pharma ranking

8. Sanofi

Sanofi

Pharma revenue: $36.0 billion

Year of Foundation: 1973
Based in: Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Known pharma products/brands: Menactra (vaccine against meningitis), Flublok (vaccine against Influenza/the flu), Dupixent (for allergies & asthma), Lantus (for diabetes), Taxotere (for lung, prostate, and breast cancer), Eloxatin (for colon cancer), Aubagio (for multiple sclerosis)

9. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals

Pharma revenue: $26.7 billion

Year of Foundation: 1994
Based in: Shanghai, China

Known pharma products/brands: Several pharmaceutical products for different fields on the Chinese market

10. AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca

Pharma revenue: $25.9 billion

Year of Foundation: 1999 (through the merger of Astra & Zeneca Group)
Based in: Cambridge, England, UK

Known pharma products/brands: AZD1222 (vaccine against Covid-19), Tagrisso (for lung cancer), Symbicort (for asthma & COPD), Nexium (for GERD, peptic ulcer disease & Zollinger–Ellison syndrome), Crestor (cardiovascular disease prevention), Farxiga (for diabetes), Faslodex (for breast cancer), Zoladex (for breast cancer & prostate cancer), Toprol XL (for high blood pressure)