TOP10! The 10 most productive biopharmaceutical companies in the world (Part 2)

The 10 most productive biopharmaceutical companies in the world have announced the TOP5. Who will be the last 5?

TOP 6: Biogen

2021 employees: 9,610

2021 revenue: $10.98 billion

2021 revenue per capita: $1.14 million

2020 revenue per capita: $1.48 million

Massachusetts-based Biogen, a relatively small drugmaker with several franchises, still ranks among the top 10 most productive companies in the industry. Biogen’s productivity fell 23% in 2021, with revenue per capita of $1.14 million. Biogen had 9,610 employees at the end of 2021, up 6% from 9,100 at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, Biogen’s revenue fell 18% year over year to $10.98 billion in 2021. Biogen’s Tecfidera sales fell by nearly half, to $1.95 billion, as the entry of generics into the U.S. took a toll on Biogen’s once-best-selling drug. Biogen’s second-best-selling spinal muscular atrophy drug, Spiraza, also saw sales slump last year, thanks to the entry of Novartis and Roche.

Meanwhile, Biogen is investing outside the United States. In its business reform plan, Biogen highlights international growth opportunities, particularly in China and certain countries in Latin America and the Middle East

TOP 7: AbbVie

2021 headcount: 50,000

2021 revenue: $56.2 billion

2021 revenue per capita: $1.12 million

2020 revenue per capita: $970,000

Although many of the drugmakers in this report employ a small workforce by Big Pharma standards, AbbVie’s total headcount only trails the COVID-19 giant in these productivity rankings Pfizer Inc. In total, the Illinois-based company employed about 50,000 people at the end of January, up slightly from 47,000 as of January 2021.

But thanks to AbbVie’s impressive top-line growth, the company finds itself one of the most productive drugmakers in 2021, helped by blockbuster Humira and a slew of other top sellers drug. A global pharmaceutical giant, AbbVie had $56.2 billion in revenue last year, up 22% from 2020. While many of the company’s peers saw solid top-line growth from COVID-19 products last year, AbbVie’s growth came mostly from its core products, which ranked fourth among big drugmakers in sales last year.

Amgen will launch the Humira biosimilar market in January 2023, with a handful of other players planning a phased rollout throughout next year. AbbVie has been gearing up to compete with Humira for years, including buying Allergan for $63 billion in 2019.

Other parts of AbbVie’s investment include: cancer drug Imbruvica’s revenue rose 2% to $5.4 billion, while immune drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq saw strong revenue growth and combined sales fell 45.9% One hundred million U.S. dollars. AbbVie expects the pair to have combined sales of $15 billion by 2025.

In terms of business costs, AbbVie acknowledges that “attracting and developing high-performing talent is critical to its success.” In its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it invests in “competitive compensation and benefit programs.” The company employs flexible working practices and looks for other ways to help employees when needed, the filing said. In its annual proxy filing, it said its median annual compensation last year was $149,700. The company has a CEO-to-employee pay ratio of 160-to-1, as CEO Richard Gonzalez received more than $23.9 million in total compensation.

TOP 8: Amgen

2021 employees: 24,200

2021 revenue: $25.98 billion

2021 revenue per capita: $1.07 million

2020 revenue per capita: $1.05 million

Although Amgen missed its 2021 revenue targets, the company has been busy lately with cancer listings, manufacturing investments, and more. All told, Amgen generated nearly $26 billion last year. With about 24,200 employees employed at the end of the year, its revenue per capita figure of $1.07 million surpassed most industries on this metric.

As biosimilars grow, Amgen executives develop Humira mimicry plans. All of this builds on Amgen’s efforts to grow top-line and profit through its new products, including its Humira biosimilar, which it plans to launch in January. In addition, last year Amgen won FDA approval for Lumakras as the first treatment for non-small cell lung cancer with the KRAS G12C gene mutation. The approval marks a huge victory because the mutation was once considered a drug-resistant target.

TOP 9: Pfizer

2021 headcount: 79,000

2021Revenue: $81.29 billion

2021 revenue per capita: $1.03 million

2020 revenue per capita: $540,000

Pfizer’s revenue increased from $40.9 billion in 2019 to $81.3 billion in 2021, mainly due to the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty in partnership with BioNTech ) big sale.

In addition to layoffs, divestitures have helped Pfizer’s headcount remain relatively stable, as the company has traded more promising businesses for less upside through mergers and acquisitions . When Pfizer bought injectable maker Hospira in 2015, the company’s workforce ballooned to 97,900. But divestitures have given Pfizer back a more manageable payroll, the most critical of which is Upjohn’s sell-off.

Pfizer remains by far the largest company in the top 10 most productive biopharmaceutical companies in 2021. Next is AbbVie with 50,000 employees, followed by Eli Lilly with 35,000 employees.

As for last year, although Pfizer’s revenue increased by nearly $40 billion, its cost of sales soared from $8.7 billion to $30.8 billion, and research and development expenses rose from $9.4 billion to $13.8 billion . But the company said in its SEC10-K report that those increases had little to do with the added manpower. Pfizer said the cost of sales increased rapidly due to the impact of Comirnaty, which includes a 50% share of gross profit with BioNTech and applicable royalty charges.

As for 2022, Pfizer’s revenue per capita is expected to increase significantly. The company reported revenue of $54.3 billion in the first half of the year, with combined sales of Comirnaty and the oral COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid exceeding $31 billion.

TOP 10: Eli Lilly

2021 staff: 35,000

2021 revenue: $28.32 billion

2021 revenue per capita: $810,000

2020 revenue per capita: $701,000

Lilly has been working hard to update its portfolio of marketed drugs, replacing sales of aging drugs with newer ones. Its efforts have paid off. With 35,000 employees by the end of 2021, Eli Lilly is larger than every other company in this report except Pfizer and AbbVie. In addition, Eli Lilly had global sales of $28.3 billion last year, ranking it 12th among all biopharma companies on this metric.

Lilly has regained its innovation crown as it has been doubling down on new drugs over the years. Back in 2016, Eli Lilly relied on used drugs for 86% of its sales, according to Evaluate Vantage. In the second quarter of this year, Eli Lilly reported that its newly launched products accounted for 67% of its total sales, excluding its COVID-19 antibody revenue. Eli Lilly’s new products include type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity, breast cancerDrug Verzenio, immunology blockbuster Taltz, migraine prevention drug Emgality, and more.

COVID-19 antibodies also played a big role for the drugmaker last year. Eli Lilly is one of the few companies in the industry that can quickly roll out antibodies to help fight the pandemic, and it generated $2.24 billion in sales from those products last year. This accounts for about 8% of the company’s total shipping volume and also contributes to increased productivity.

Written by Qiao Weijun

Typesetting|Feng Lixiao

References:

[1]https:https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/top-10-most-productive-biopharma-companies#e057094b-5ca4-437a-8559-c27c3cb7a322

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