Leading pharmaceutical companies in Italy 2020, by revenue

In 2020, the Italian company Chiesi Farmacuetici was the pharmaceutical company generating the highest revenue in Italy, with a value amounting to more than 1.4 billion euros. According to the figures provided by Competitive Data, the French Sanofi and the Swiss Novartis Farma followed in the ranking, generating revenue for almost 1.4 and over 1.2 billion euros, respectively.  

 International pharmaceutical companies in Italy

In Italy, most of the companies operating in the pharmaceutical sector are foreign-owned . In 2023, Italian capital firms accounted for 42 percent of the of the total companies, whereas foreign enterprises represented 58 percent of them. Zooming in, 32 percent were from EU or Japan, whereas 26 percent were originally from the United States.  

 International Trade 

Trade figures also confirm the international character of the Italian pharmaceutical sector. In 2023, the value of Italian pharmaceutical exports surpassed 49.1 billion euros, following a steady growth started in 2010. Between 2017 and 2019, Germany and the United States were the leading destination countries for Italy’s exports of basic pharmaceuticals, whereas Switzerland was the major supplier of such products for Italy.