The Pharmaceutical industry is very strict when it comes to laws and regulations pertaining to safety, quality and patents. This industry used to be relatively small scale before 1970’s. But with the coming of technology and discovery of new medicine, the industry began to expand rapidly. Pharmaceutical companies produce not only drugs that cure diseases but also various nutritional supplements. There is a tremendous competition going on in this industry due to a large number of players worldwide.
Read on for the list of top 10 pharmaceutical companies in world 2013 based on the latest R&D figures:
10. Abbott Laboratories
It is an American pharmaceutical company which was the first to develop the blood screening test for HIV. Drugs are produced for various diseases like HIV, chronic diseases, thyroid, arthritis, etc. Humira, Norvir, etc are some of its well known drugs.
2012 R&D spend – $4.33 billion
9. AstraZeneca
It is a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company. It produces drugs for cancer, respiratory diseases, etc.
2012 R&D spend – $4.45 billion
8. Eli Lilly
It is a pharmaceutical company based in America. Penicillin, polio vaccine, insulin, etc are mass produced by this company. It also produces medicines for psychiatric treatment. Cymbalta, Gemzar, Prozac, etc are some of the famous brands of Eli Lilly.
2012 R&D spend- $5.27 billion
7. GlaxoSmithKline
It is a pharmaceutical company of British origin. It came into existence by the merger of Glaxo Wellcome plc and SmithKline Beecham plc. It provides medicines for asthma, cancer, viral, diabetes, infections etc. Pandemrix and Ralgex are some of its brands. It also produces nutritional products like Boost and Horlicks.
2012 R&D spend – $6.45 billion
6. Sanofi
It is a French pharmaceutical company. It not only produces prescription medicines but also over the counter medicines. It supplies medicines for cardiovascular, central nervous system, diabetes, cancer, etc. Ketoprofen, Zolpidem and Combiflam are some of the drugs produced by this company.
2012 R&D spend – $6.49 billion
5. Johnson and Johnson
It is a U.S. based pharmaceutical company. It is famous for its band-aids and baby products. It has won numerous awards and recognitions for the social work that it does. Benadryl, Calpol etc are some other famous drugs produced by this company.
2012 R&D spend – $7.66 billion
4. Pfizer
It is an American pharmaceutical company that produces drugs for diseases like metabolic, cancer, cardiovascular, etc. Lipitor, Difulcan, Celebra are some of its brands. But in the last few years, Pfizer has been in limelight for various wrong reasons like illegal marketing of drugs which were unapproved by USFDA.
2012 R&D spend – $7.87 billion
3. Merck and Co
It is an American pharmaceutical company that produces drugs to treat arthritis, river blindness, etc. Mectizan, Cordaptive are some of its brands. It is also involved in a lot of social work.
2012 R&D spend – $8.17 billion
2. Novartis
It is a Swiss pharmaceutical company. It also owns the generic drug manufacturer Sandoz. Drugs are also produced for Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, etc. Drugs like clozapine, diclofenac, letrozole are few of the names.
2012 R&D spend – $9.33 billion
1. Roche
It is a Swiss pharmaceutical company that produces drugs to treat depression, malignant tumors, insomnia, Hepatitis B and C, etc. It produces drugs like Bactrim, Avastin and Rohypnol.
2012 R&D spend – $10.44 billion
Akshay Agarwal
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