The World's Biggest Players in Pharma

Pfizer once again tops Pharmaceutical Executive's latest annual ranking of the top 50 biopharma companies for prescription drug sales. Of Rx revenues of $72 billion in 2021, more than half were generated by the company's Covid-19 vaccine, Comirnaty. Pfizer also had the highest R&D spend in the ranking at almost $14 billion.

The company had led the ranking between 2015 and 2019, but was overtaken by Swiss company Roche in 2020 beause of its significant presence in Covid testing analytics. The fastest riser in the top 10 of Rx sales and in regards to market cap, Illinois-based AbbVie, did not sell COVID-19 related products, however. Its monoclonal antibody drug Humira, which is used to treat conditions like arthritis, Crohn's disease and psoriasis, was the highest-grossing non-vaccine Rx drug of 2021.

According to the publication, Pfizer could eclipe Humira sales in 2022, however, with its Covid treatment, Paxlovid.