2016 Global 2000: The World's Largest Drug And Biotech Companies

The world’s largest public drug and biotech companies have been wheeling and dealing to expand product portfolios, avoid taxes and just plain get bigger.

Johnson & Johnson sells household medical products so popular they’re practically household names themselves. Band-aid has become synonymous with bandage and does anyone say acetaminophen? It’s Tylenol. Johnson & Johnson remains the largest company in drugs and biotech and inched up 2 positions to be #32 on the 2016 FORBES Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies.

To see the list of the top 25 drug and biotech companies in the world, click through here:

The FORBES Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, based on equally-weighted measures of revenue, profits, assets and market value. Here’s how we crunched the numbers.

Johnson & Johnson also manufactures more complex medical devices across the healthcare spectrum for patients with diseases like diabetes and cancer. Over the 12 months to April 22, when Global 2000 data was locked in, J&J generated $70.2 billion in revenue, $15.4 billion in profits and its market capitalization stood at $312.6 billion.

Pfizer came in a less-than-close second yet again with $48.9 billion in sales, $7.7 billion in profit with a market valuation of $205.7 billion. The company grabbed up Hospira for $16.1 billion in cash last September, adding generic injectables to its menu of medical products.

Pfizer vied for the top spot in drugs and biotech with an attempted acquisition of   Allergan  (#135 overall) that was thwarted by President Obama’s efforts to curb tax-inversion deals this past April. The Zoloft-maker has a clear focus on M&A, spending only $429 million on research and development in 2015, down 69% from the previous year.

Full Coverage Of Global 2000 Continues Here

Swiss-giant Novartis  (#47 overall) ranked third in the drugs and biotech industry and is in the process of selling its $14 billion stake in rival Roche (#80 overall), which ranks just below it as the 4th largest in the space. Why is it divesting? It wants to secure cash to make more deals, according to Reuters.

Bayer  (#97 overall) is the 6th largest drug and biotech company and just announced a $62 billion bid for chemical company Monsanto (#420 overall), with $13.7 billion in sales, $1.5 billion in profit with a market value of $41.1 billion as of April 22.

The notable newbie is Allergan  (#135 overall), which can thank its debut on the list to being bought by merger-maniac Actavis last March. New Jersey-based Actavis grew from a small generic drug-maker in 2010 to becoming sizable enough to purchase the Botox giant, by making a series of strategic deals. With the sale, Actavis redubbed itself Allergan. The $70.5 billion cash and equity transaction makes the new Allergan M&A mutt the 11th largest company in the drugs and biotech space.

The world's 25 biggest drug and biotech companies hail from 8 countries, with 15 based in the U.S., 2 each headquartered in the U.K., Switzerland and Germany and 1 in Denmark, France, Israel and Japan.

For more coverage of the FORBES Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies, see below:

The World's Largest Companies 2016

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