Global Top 25 Publicly Listed Pharma Companies Ranked by Market Cap: Chinese Firm Hengrui Medicine Makes the List!
Apr 28, 2019 10:22
CST Updated
10:22
Hengrui Pharma
Innovative and High-Quality Pharmaceutical Developer
Pfizer
Pharmaceutical R&D Developer
Roche
Oncology Drug Research, Development, and Manufacturing
MSD
Pharmaceutical R&D and Manufacturer
Takeda
Biopharmaceutical Manufacturer
GlobalData
Industry Analysis and Intelligence Providers
【Pharmaceutical Station: Industry Trends] On April 25, data analytics company GlobalData released the new rankings of the top 25 globally listed pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization. As of December 31, 2018, the top three pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization were Pfizer, Roche, and Merck & Co., Inc. (MSD). Compared to last year's list, Pfizer replaced Roche to take the number one spot.
Furthermore, Chinese pharmaceutical company Hengrui Pharma replaced Takeda from the 2017 list to enter the top 25. In fact, Hengrui Pharma had already appeared on the list in GlobalData’s top 25 rankings released last September, which covered data through the end of Q2.
Pfizer Market Cap: $253.2 billion Revenue: $53.6 billion
Pfizer’s business is divided into two major segments: IH (Pfizer Innovative Health) and EH (Pfizer Essential Health). The IH business line focuses more on the development and commercialization of new drugs and vaccines, with its core strengths lying in efficient R&D and a robust pipeline of investigational products.
The EH business line primarily refers to traditional branded drugs, branded generics, and biosimilars that have already lost or are about to lose patent protection. The strategic core of the EH business line lies in optimizing the drug portfolio, further extracting value, and enhancing efficiency.
Pfizer stated that it would no longer pursue the development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease due to high R&D costs and limited efficacy. Additionally, in 2018, Pfizer implemented layoffs. Sally Beatty, a Pfizer spokesperson, stated that the layoffs were intended to “create a simpler and more efficient structure, rather than to cut costs.”
Roche Market Cap: $212.5 billion Revenue: $58.1 billion
Roche possesses a portfolio of blockbuster anticancer drugs, including the breast cancer drug Herceptin, the lymphoma drug Rituxan (MabThera), and Avastin.
Previously, the company’s financial reports indicated robust growth in global pharmaceutical sales, a performance attributed to new products—including the hemophilia drug Hemlibra (emicizumab), the multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and the immuno-oncology therapy Tecentriq (atezolizumab). In 2019, Roche’s blockbuster patented drugs will face significant threats from the generic drug market.
In 2019, Spark Therapeutics, a star company in gene therapy, was acquired for $5 billion. Upon the announcement, Spark’s stock opened significantly higher and closed with a 120% gain. Prior to the release of the acquisition proposal (on February 22), Spark’s market capitalization stood at only $2.013 billion. Roche acquired the company at a 1.2x premium, driving its share price up by 1.2 times—a solid and steady move.
Merck & Co., Inc. Market Cap: $198.7 billion Revenue: $42.3 billion
Merck’s PD-1 antibody Keytruda has continuously delivered positive news in the field of lung cancer. In June 2018, multiple clinical study results for Keytruda (KEYNOTE-042, KEYNOTE-407, and KEYNOTE-427) were consecutively presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting. In April, the pivotal Phase III trial KEYNOTE-042, evaluating Keytruda monotherapy as first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), met its primary endpoint of overall survival. In February, the marketing application for Keytruda injection was submitted to the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and accepted for review.
MSD entered the Chinese market in 1992. In the United States and Canada, the company is known as “Merck.” Headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA, MSD employs nearly 70,000 people worldwide.
For over a century, MSD has been a global leader in the healthcare industry, at the forefront of pharmaceutical research and development worldwide. Its medicines and vaccines address some of the world’s most challenging diseases—including the prevention and treatment of cancer, cardiometabolic disorders, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola.
Hengrui Pharma Market Cap: $29.4 billion Revenue: $2.6 billion
In February, Hengrui Pharma released its annual report early, reporting a 26.39% year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders for the full year 2018, with both revenue and net profit reaching new historical highs. The company maintained ample cash flow and faced low debt-servicing pressure. The proportion of R&D expenditure to revenue continued to rise, and the successive approval of new products contributed to incremental performance growth. By October this year, Hengrui Pharma will have been listed for 19 years, during which time its net profit has consistently maintained rapid growth, and its market capitalization has remained relatively stable.
Overall, Hengrui Pharma’s financial statements are already quite healthy by A-share standards, and its conservative operational strategy is arguably justifiable in the current environment. As for stock price performance, it will depend on whether the market grants a new round of expectation premium for its novel drugs. If relying solely on volume growth from existing drug sales, the stock price may struggle to sustain its upward trend.
Furthermore, Chinese pharmaceutical company Hengrui Pharma replaced Takeda from the 2017 list to enter the top 25. In fact, Hengrui Pharma had already appeared on the list in GlobalData’s top 25 rankings released last September, which covered data through the end of Q2.
Pfizer Market Cap: $253.2 billion Revenue: $53.6 billion
Pfizer’s business is divided into two major segments: IH (Pfizer Innovative Health) and EH (Pfizer Essential Health). The IH business line focuses more on the development and commercialization of new drugs and vaccines, with its core strengths lying in efficient R&D and a robust pipeline of investigational products.
The EH business line primarily refers to traditional branded drugs, branded generics, and biosimilars that have already lost or are about to lose patent protection. The strategic core of the EH business line lies in optimizing the drug portfolio, further extracting value, and enhancing efficiency.
Pfizer stated that it would no longer pursue the development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease due to high R&D costs and limited efficacy. Additionally, in 2018, Pfizer implemented layoffs. Sally Beatty, a Pfizer spokesperson, stated that the layoffs were intended to “create a simpler and more efficient structure, rather than to cut costs.”
Roche Market Cap: $212.5 billion Revenue: $58.1 billion
Roche possesses a portfolio of blockbuster anticancer drugs, including the breast cancer drug Herceptin, the lymphoma drug Rituxan (MabThera), and Avastin.
Previously, the company’s financial reports indicated robust growth in global pharmaceutical sales, a performance attributed to new products—including the hemophilia drug Hemlibra (emicizumab), the multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and the immuno-oncology therapy Tecentriq (atezolizumab). In 2019, Roche’s blockbuster patented drugs will face significant threats from the generic drug market.
In 2019, Spark Therapeutics, a star company in gene therapy, was acquired for $5 billion. Upon the announcement, Spark’s stock opened significantly higher and closed with a 120% gain. Prior to the release of the acquisition proposal (on February 22), Spark’s market capitalization stood at only $2.013 billion. Roche acquired the company at a 1.2x premium, driving its share price up by 1.2 times—a solid and steady move.
Merck & Co., Inc. Market Cap: $198.7 billion Revenue: $42.3 billion
Merck’s PD-1 antibody Keytruda has continuously delivered positive news in the field of lung cancer. In June 2018, multiple clinical study results for Keytruda (KEYNOTE-042, KEYNOTE-407, and KEYNOTE-427) were consecutively presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting. In April, the pivotal Phase III trial KEYNOTE-042, evaluating Keytruda monotherapy as first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), met its primary endpoint of overall survival. In February, the marketing application for Keytruda injection was submitted to the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and accepted for review.
MSD entered the Chinese market in 1992. In the United States and Canada, the company is known as “Merck.” Headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA, MSD employs nearly 70,000 people worldwide.
For over a century, MSD has been a global leader in the healthcare industry, at the forefront of pharmaceutical research and development worldwide. Its medicines and vaccines address some of the world’s most challenging diseases—including the prevention and treatment of cancer, cardiometabolic disorders, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola.
Hengrui Pharma Market Cap: $29.4 billion Revenue: $2.6 billion
In February, Hengrui Pharma released its annual report early, reporting a 26.39% year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders for the full year 2018, with both revenue and net profit reaching new historical highs. The company maintained ample cash flow and faced low debt-servicing pressure. The proportion of R&D expenditure to revenue continued to rise, and the successive approval of new products contributed to incremental performance growth. By October this year, Hengrui Pharma will have been listed for 19 years, during which time its net profit has consistently maintained rapid growth, and its market capitalization has remained relatively stable.
Overall, Hengrui Pharma’s financial statements are already quite healthy by A-share standards, and its conservative operational strategy is arguably justifiable in the current environment. As for stock price performance, it will depend on whether the market grants a new round of expectation premium for its novel drugs. If relying solely on volume growth from existing drug sales, the stock price may struggle to sustain its upward trend.