Top 5 pharma companies in USA|Who are the top 5 pharma companies in the US
The pharmaceutical industry in the US has been in existence since the mid-1800s with the origins of Pfizer, J&J, and Merck & Co. The United States counts more than $340 billion in sales per year followed by Japan and the EU. Later on, these old pharma giant companies became the top 5Â pharma companies in USA. The pharmaceutical industry contributed $1.3 trillion in economic output that is about 4% of the US economy in 2015. It will reach about 7.1% in 2021.
US pharma sector remained at the top position in the world with $339,694 million followed by Japan with $94,025 million. In terms of value, the US is the biggest consumer of medicines branded as well as generic medicines.
The United States is the capital of the pharmaceutical industry in every aspect like in value, innovation, top companies, and number of total MNCs in the world. US is home to all world-class companies like Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Pfizer, Sanofi etc.Â
List of Top 5 pharma companies in the USA:
SR.NO.COMPANY NAMEMARKET CAP.VOLUME.YEAR OF INCORPORATION1.Johnson & Johnson433.833 Bn.5,259,55918862.Roche329.545 Bn.781,52018963.Pfizer251.011 Bn.24,227,70818494.Novartis191.501 Bn.1,421,66019965.Merck & Co. 184.309 Bn.12,303,3791891top-5-pharma-companies-in-us
In 2019, total nominal spending on medicines accounted for $511.4 Bn. The share of branded drugs in total sales in 2019 was 80% in the US. One drug Humira made $21 Bn in revenue in 2018 in the USÂ
1. Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is a United States-based company that has its headquarters in New Brunswick city of Los Angeles province. The company was founded in 1886 by three people Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) deals in research, and development of new drugs, and manufactures and sells various types of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and consumer products.Â
The pharma giant produces medicines for all popular categories like immune diseases, cancer, various infections, cardiovascular, and different metabolic diseases.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) employs more than 134,000 in the United States. The company is a public entity and has been listed on the NYSE. It has worldwide sales of $82.6 billion during the calendar year 2020.
Johnson & Johnson is one of the world’s most valuable companies. The company has an AAA credit rating by various rating agencies, it has a higher credit rating than the United States Government.
The main business of J&J is allocated around Consumer Health, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceutical products. The three segments are the source of income of the company.
In the consumer health segment, the company has categories like Self Care that contain products like pain relief, smoking cessation, allergy, antidiarrheal products, antacids, nasal decongestants, and many more.
Skin Health/Beauty is another category under the consumer health segment, in this category, the company has a leadership position in the world. Famous products in this category are products for the treatment of acne and eczema, removal of aging signs, skin moisturizers, sunscreens, etc.Â
 Johnson and Johnson have 119 manufacturing plants in 60 different countries all over the world. The company has a significant presence in every country with its local-level manufacturing capacity.
2. Roche
 Roche Pharmaceutical Company was founded in 1896 in Basel city of Switzerland by a Swiss citizen Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche. Full name of Roche is F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.Â
Now Roche controls the entity of Genentech ( an American Biotechnology company), Japanese Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Vedanta, and Foundation Medicines ( United States).
In the year 2018, Roche’s revenue was approximately US$57 billion, and in 2019 it was US$63.751 billion.
Roche is one of the top players in the diabetes management products segment under the brand name of Accu-Check, it includes Accu-Chek Mobile, Accu-Chek Aviva, Accu-Chek Compact Plus, Accu-Chek Aviva Expert, Accu-Chek Active, Accu-Chek Advantage, Accu-Chek Performa, Accu-Chek Aviva Nano, Accu-Chek Performa Nano blood glucose monitors.
The Roche Group has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and it is active in over 100 countries and in 2017 employed about 94,000 people worldwide.Â
Roche Group has 26 manufacturing sites in the pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics segment worldwide. Basel-based pharma giant prefers to manufacture pharmaceutical products and diagnostic equipment at the local level to meet the supply requirements.
3. Pfizer
Pfizer is a US-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. Pfizer was founded by two German immigrants Charles Pfizer and his cousin brother Charles F. Erhart in 1849 in New York City.
The company has its headquarters at 42nd Street Manhattan, New York, United States.
The company has completed its 172 years of incorporation. The current CEO and Chairman of Pfizer are Mr. Albert Bourla.
The main business and products of the company are all types of dosage forms of pharmaceutical medicines and biotechnological items and vaccines. Pfizer and BioNTech developed a covid vaccine that is in very high demand all over the world. The vaccine is advised to all 16 years and older people. Now the brand name of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been changed to Comirnaty.
The company generated total revenue of $41.908 billion in the year 2020. The company has total assets of $178 Billion in 2020.
Pfizer has more than 78,500 employees all over the world. In the United States, 29,400 people are employed.
The pharma giant develops and manufactures several types of pharmaceutical products and vaccines for immunology, cancer, cardiology, and neurology. Some blockbuster drugs generate revenue of more than 1 billion dollars in a year.
50% of the total revenue of the company comes from the US only, followed by 8% from Japan and 8% from China, and 36% from the rest of the world countries.
The company ranked 64th position on the Fortune 500 in the year 2020 and 49th on the Forbes Global 2000 in the same year.
The big turnaround in the revenue of the company came when the company developed the Viagra tablet ( Sildenafil Citrate) in 1989. Viagra is a miraculous drug that lifted up the revenue of the company for several years.
Another antidepressant drug Zoloft (Sertraline) launched in 1991 proved a milestone in company revenue and reputation among the investors. Before becoming generic this drug made more than $ 3 billion for the company.
The world’s most famous drug Pregabalin which is used to treat epilepsy and neuropathic pain was developed in 2004 by Pfizer. Developing Pregabalin was also a jackpot for the company that billions of dollars for the company.Â
Pfizer has a big manufacturing network across the world. The company has 35 manufacturing facilities across 6 countries worldwide. Every year the company invests $1 billion in its manufacturing facilities across the world.
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4. Novartis
Novartis is the resultant merger of two pharma giants Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz On March 7, 1996. Its predecessor companies trace their roots back more than 250 years in history. They have a rich legacy of developing new drugs and innovative products. The vision behind the merger was to accelerate innovations and domination in the world market.
The brand Novartis came into existence only 30 years ago, in such a short span of time it gained the position in the top 5 in the US. The company has maintained its top 5 positions for a decade.Â
Sandoz was a global leader in generic and biosimilar medicines, the company committedly played a leading role in driving access to medicine worldwide.
Net sales to third parties from continuing operations of Novartis in the year 2020 remained at 48,659 Million $. In the year 2019, it was 47445 Million $, and in 2018 the third-party sale stood at 44751 Million $.
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5. Merck & Co.
Merck & Co. was founded by George Merck in the United States on January 1, 1891. George Merck was just 23 years old, a young businessman. In the beginning, the company was established to distribute fine chemicals. Gradually, the company moved into the medicines business and successfully became the top pharma company in the world.
 Merck & Co. has its headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey, United States. The company was ranked 69th rank on the 2021 Fortune 500. It was also ranked 92nd position in the 2021 Forbes Global 2000.
The first Merck Manual was published in 1899 and was focused on bloodletting for acute bronchitis, arsenic for impotence, and almond bread for diabetes. Later on, the Merck Manual was the most popular drug manual widely used for medical references.
Merck & Co. employs more than 74000 employees all over the world. In 2020, the company invested $13.6B in 2020.
Total worldwide sales by Merck & Co. in 2020 remained at 17534 million euros.Â
Merck & Co. has spread its business all over the world. It has operations in over 150 locations and regions.
References:
- Market cap information includes both Roche nonvoting equity securities and Roche bearer shares, both listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Roche is also listed on OTCQX International Premier, where it trades ADRs under the ticker RHHBY. www.roche.com/investors/shares.htm
- Â Novartis also trades ADRs on the NYSE.
- Â Novartis Annual Report 2020
- Â U.S. pharmaceutical industry – statistics & facts | Statista
- U.S. pharmaceutical industry – statistics & facts.-Statista