15 of top 20 Biopharmaceutical Companies Report 5.2% YoY Revenue Growth: GlobalData

In 2022, the biopharmaceutical industry had an exceptional year, with notable success for those developing COVID-19 vaccines. According to GlobalData, the majority (15) of the top 20 publicly traded global innovative biopharmaceutical companies reported a 5.2 percent increase in aggregate revenue to $868.97 billion from 2021 to 2022. According to GlobalData, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Merck & Co reported YoY revenue growth of 25.7%, 23.4%, and 21.7%, respectively, in 2022. Pfizer ranked first in the top 20 list, with $100.3 billion in revenue and a $19 billion increase in revenue by 2021, thanks to strong sales of Paxlovid, Prevnar 20, Comirnaty, Vyndaqel, and Eliquis.

Chan commented, “BioNTech and Novartis recorded a slight YoY revenue decline of 8.8 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, in 2022. Lower sales for their COVID-19 vaccine worldwide contributed to BioNTech’s revenue decrease in 2022. However, both BioNTech and Pfizer are currently awaiting regulatory review and approval from the FDA for their Omicron XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine, which may help to boost their revenues.” Nine of the top 20 companies demonstrated compound revenue growth rates (CAGR) exceeding 10 per cent over the past five years.

Notably, Moderna (245.6 per cent) and BioNTech (241.3 per cent) maintained their positions as frontrunners on the list with more than 200 per cent CAGR, thanks to their COVID-19 vaccine franchises. Other top players with more than 10 per cent CAGR in revenue include Pfizer (25.2 per cent), Bristol-Myers Squibb (19.6 per cent), AstraZeneca (19 per cent), Takeda Pharmaceutical (17.7 per cent), AbbVie (15.4 per cent), Novo Nordisk (12.2 per cent) and Merck KGaA (10.6 per cent).

More than half of the top 20 innovative biopharmaceutical companies achieved greater than 10 per cent operating profit growth in 2022 with a significant increase by AstraZeneca (255.8 per cent), Bayer (109.2 per cent) and Pfizer (54.5 per cent) driven by increased cash flows, strong divisional performance and higher revenues with reduced in-process research and development (IPR&D) expenses, respectively. Chan concluded, “The top biopharmaceutical companies that have developed effective vaccines for COVID-19 during the pandemic have continued to reap the successes overall. The biopharmaceutical industry, however, faces ongoing challenges including inflationary pressures and loss of exclusivity for major products.”