| Global 2000 Rank | Company | Country | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Pfizer | United States | $52.7 B | $22 B | $172.1 B | $203.9 B |
| 54 | Novartis | Switzerland | $57.9 B | $9.2 B | $126.3 B | $227.4 B |
| 87 | Sanofi | France | $43.7 B | $4.9 B | $132.4 B | $137.1 B |
| 90 | Roche Holding | Switzerland | $50.5 B | $12 B | $69.9 B | $253.7 B |
| 99 | Merck & Co | United States | $44.1 B | $4.4 B | $105.6 B | $165.8 B |
| 116 | GlaxoSmithKline | United Kingdom | $41.4 B | $8.5 B | $69.7 B | $128.8 B |
| 183 | AstraZeneca | United Kingdom | $25.7 B | $2.6 B | $55.9 B | $82.3 B |
| 219 | Eli Lilly & Co | United States | $23.1 B | $4.7 B | $35.2 B | $65.9 B |
| 229 | Abbott Laboratories | United States | $21.8 B | $2.6 B | $43 B | $59.4 B |
| 243 | McKesson | United States | $130.1 B | $1.2 B | $36.5 B | $40.5 B |
| 254 | AbbVie | United States | $18.8 B | $4.1 B | $29.2 B | $82.8 B |
| 257 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | United States | $16.4 B | $2.6 B | $38.6 B | $85.9 B |
| 294 | Teva Pharmaceutical Inds | Israel | $20.3 B | $1.3 B | $47.5 B | $44.6 B |
| 348 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | Japan | $17 B | $1.1 B | $42.1 B | $37 B |
| 372 | Merck KGaA | Germany | $14.7 B | $1.6 B | $28.7 B | $36.3 B |
| 399 | Novo Nordisk | Denmark | $14.9 B | $4.5 B | $13 B | $119.6 B |
| 526 | Cardinal Health | United States | $96.7 B | $0.4 B | $25 B | $23.9 B |
| 527 | Otsuka Holding | Japan | $14.4 B | $1.8 B | $17.9 B | $16.1 B |
| 615 | Astellas Pharma | Japan | $11.7 B | $0.8 B | $14.9 B | $26.1 B |
| 674 | AmerisourceBergen | United States | $96.1 B | $0.3 B | $19.8 B | $15.1 B |
| 707 | Daiichi Sankyo | Japan | $10.9 B | $0.9 B | $17.3 B | $11.6 B |
| 753 | Allergan | United States | $6.3 B | $1.3 B | $10.6 B | $36.9 B |
| 816 | Mylan | United States | $7 B | $0.6 B | $15.2 B | $18.3 B |
| 858 | Actavis | Ireland | $8.7 B | $-0.8 B | $22.7 B | $36.5 B |
| 903 | Sinopharm Group | China | $27.1 B | $0.4 B | $17.4 B | $7.1 B |
| 921 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Canada | $5.8 B | $-0.9 B | $28 B | $44.6 B |
| 1041 | Shire | Ireland | $5 B | $0.7 B | $8.3 B | $29 B |
| 1275 | Eisai | Japan | $6 B | $0.4 B | $9.3 B | $10.8 B |
| 1293 | Sun Pharma Industries | India | $2.1 B | $0.5 B | $4.1 B | $19.9 B |
| 1330 | Zoetis | United States | $4.6 B | $0.5 B | $6.6 B | $14.7 B |
| 1332 | Medipal Holdings | Japan | $29.5 B | $0.2 B | $13.4 B | $3.6 B |
| 1383 | UCB | Belgium | $4.5 B | $0.3 B | $13.7 B | $15.3 B |
| 1407 | Perrigo | Ireland | $3.8 B | $0.3 B | $13.7 B | $20.8 B |
| 1434 | Alfresa Holdings | Japan | $25.2 B | $0.2 B | $11.6 B | $3.8 B |
| 1526 | Actelion | Switzerland | $1.9 B | $0.5 B | $3.4 B | $10.9 B |
| 1534 | Suzuken | Japan | $20 B | $0.2 B | $10.3 B | $3.5 B |
| 1595 | Forest Laboratories | United States | $3.4 B | $0.2 B | $9.1 B | $25.3 B |
| 1608 | Aspen Pharmacare Holdings | South Africa | $2.3 B | $0.4 B | $7.7 B | $12.1 B |
| 1684 | Shionogi & Co. | Japan | $3 B | $0.8 B | $5.9 B | $6.1 B |
| 1807 | Yunnan Baiyao Group | China | $2.6 B | $0.4 B | $2.1 B | $9.2 B |
| 1955 | Toho Holdings | Japan | $12.1 B | $0.1 B | $5.9 B | $1.6 B |
May 2014 forbes.com 2014
Pharmaceuticals is a high profit margin business. The cost of XANAX for example is $0.24, but the consumer price can go up to $136.79, that is a markup of 569,958%.
In the United States, there is no ceiling price prescription, and the price is protected by 20 year patent laws. Until the patent ends, generics that are often 80% cheaper, are not allowed to enter the market.
Researchers found that Big Pharma spends twice more money on Advertisements than they do on R&D. Big Pharma rarely conducts research themselves, they prefer to fund research done by universities and biotech companies. To create a wider market, Big Pharma often exaggerates a disease’s condition, and some companies even hire doctors to help market their drugs.
Sixteen years ago, Professor Irving Weissman discovered a treatment that could cure diabetes and breast cancer, but Big Pharma wasn’t interested because ongoing treatment such as insulin, testing strips, and meters are more profitable.
