Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

FiercePharma reports that the 10 largest pharma companies in the world in 2022 by sales revenue were Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Merck & Co., AbbVie, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and GSK. Global drug sales reached nearly $1.5 trillion in 2022, according to Statista.com. Sales in the United States comprise about 41 percent of this total. Despite increasing revenue, pharmaceutical sales at the top 50 companies in the United States have slowed in recent years. Industry mergers and acquisitions, expiring patents, pressures by insurance companies and governments to reduce costs, and some high-profile Phase III drug development failures have slowed growth. Yet, the overall outlook is generally positive. The increasing role of pharmaceuticals as a first-line treatment option for many diseases in the developed world are fueling demand. More and more often, physicians are opting to prescribe a pharmaceutical first in lieu of a more invasive procedure, such as surgery.

Eighty-seven percent of employees in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry work for firms with more than 100 workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There are about 1,100 manufacturing plants involved in the production of human-use medicines in 45 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Although pharmaceutical companies are located throughout the continental United States, the industry is geographically concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic States (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) and on the West Coast in California. A significant number of companies can also be found in Massachusetts, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina.

The biopharmaceutical sector of the drug industry has grown steadily in recent years. In 2023, there were 3,429 biotech companies in the United States, according to IBISWorld. This number does not include the thousands of small start-up biotechnology companies and companies with biotechnology departments that also produce other products. California and Massachusetts have the largest number of biotechnology companies. Other states with a large number of biotechnology companies include North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Texas, and Florida. Biotechnology firms in the United States account for 80 percent of the world’s research and development in biotechnology, according to Burrill and Company. In 2021, biopharmaceutical companies spent $102.3 billion on the research and development of medications, according to PhRMA, up from $58.8 billion in 2015. Approximately 4,500 compounds are currently being studied in the United States—the most of any country in the world. Over 8,000 compounds are being studied around the world. More than 900,000 people are directly employed by the biopharmaceutical industry, according to PhRMA, and the industry supports nearly 4.5 million jobs throughout the U.S. economy.

Sales of generics in the United States reached $86.9 billion in 2022, according to IMARC, a market research company. This total was up significantly from $65.2 billion in 2014. The U.S. generics market is expected to reach $110.7 billion by 2028. In 2021, the leading worldwide pharmaceutical corporations by revenue were Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Sandoz (Novartis), Viatris, Sun Pharma, and Fresenius Kabi, Aurobindo, Cipla, Aspen Pharmacare, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Hikma.

Global medical technology revenues are expected to increase from $495.46 billion in 2022 to $718.92 billion by 2029, according to Fortune Business Insights, a market research firm. The medical device industry is made up of a few large companies, and many small- and medium-sized companies. There are more than 5,000 medtech companies in the United States, with many companies consisting of 50 or fewer employees. Approximately 330,000 people work in the industry. In 2022, the top medical device manufacturers (by revenue) in the world were Medtronic, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens Healthineers, BD, GE Healthcare, Stryker, Cardinal Health, Phillips, and Baxter International, according to Medical Product Outsourcing.