The global biotech market is estimated at $1.38 trillion in 2023, and is expected to grow to $4.25 trillion by 2033 at a CAGR of 11.8% (Precedence Research). Biotech companies use materials derived from living organisms to manufacture medicines to improve human lives.
The biotech industry comprises five major sectors including biopharma (development of therapeutics and diagnostics), industrial biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology (genetically modified crops for agriculture), food biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and bioinformatics.
Biopharma companies manufacture medications from living organisms, like humans, animals, and fungi. The therapeutics are tailored to individual needs through genetic sequencing and molecular diagnostics to identify specific genetic mutations associated with disease.
Another important innovations by biotech companies include biologics, drugs derived from living organisms or components like vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and monoclonal antibodies.
In gene therapy, gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 can help scientists to modify cells’ DNA, and treat genetic disorders by correcting disease-causing gene mutations.
The US is the largest biotech industry producing twice the new chemical or biological entities, as Europe, and four times as many as Japan. However, China is a rising threat to the US’s dominance.
The US
The US remains the largest global biotech market, with a market share of 59% in 2021. The market is estimated at USD 552.43 billion in 2023 and may rise to USD 1,785.96 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 12.45% from 2024 to 2033 (Vision Research Reports).
Top biotech clusters in the US include the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, California Research Triangle, Southern California, Seattle, Philadelphia, BioHealth Capital Region, and New York.
US is home to most of the top 20 global biotech companies like Amgen, Gilead Sciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
The Biotech Sector in Europe
The Europe biotech industry is lagging behind the US and China. Most of the biotech investment in Europe ends in the UK and Switzerland.
UK is the leading biotech industry in Europe, with £1.8 ($2.2) billion in equity investment in 2023. The UK’s Golden Triangle – London, Cambridge and Oxford remains the biggest biotech cluster in the UK. This is due to the expertise of top universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge. Also, Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland are attracting investments in n research facilities and new start-ups.
There are about 1452 biotech companies in the UK in 2022. Top UK biotech companies include AstraZeneca, Amber Therapeutics, Ascend Gene & Cell Therapies, Oxford BioMedica, and Moderna
Switzerland is another powerhouse in the biotech industry in Europe. A IQVIA report, published in the 2023 Swiss Biotech Report, showed that 20% of European biotech companies have headquarters in Switzerland. Basel is the most developed biotech hub in Switzerland, due to proximity to University of Basel. It hosts biopharma giants like Lonza, Novartis and Roche.
Other biotech clusters in Switzerland include Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne.
Germany is another biotech hotbed in Europe. OECD figures show that Germany is seventh globally in terms of active biotech companies and 13th for biotechnology R&D intensity. Berlin remains the largest of the 30 biotech clusters (called the “BioRegions”) in the country.
In 2021, there are 774 biotech companies in Germany, generating a revenue of EUR 26.3 billion, while spending EUR 3.8 billion on research and development.
Bayer AG is the largest biotechnology company in Germany, while BioNTech, based in Mainz, is renowned for developing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines with the American company Pfizer.
China Biotech Sector
China has overtaken Europe, and only second to the US. It held 11.3% of the global biotech sector in 2021. China hosts 8,500 biotech and biopharma companies in four clusters including the Bohai Rim Cluster (Beijing, Tianjin, and Jianin), Yangtze River Cluster (Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou), Mid-West Cluster (Wuhan and Chengdu), and South China Cluster (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Xiamen).
Top biotech companies in China include BeiGene, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, BGI Genomics, WuXi AppTec, Junshi Biosciences, and Insilico Medicine.
India
India is now trying to fund R&D activities, away from the traditional pharma manufacturing, to improve the biotech sector. Genome Valley in Hyderabad, and Bangalore are India’s top biotech clusters. Prominent biotech companies include Bharat Biotech and Shantha Biotechnics.
Top Global Biotech Companies by Revenue in 2024 (Q3 2024)
Though there are pure play biotechnology companies, some pharmaceutical companies manufacture their main products and also additional biotech products in their biotechnological divisions. Top global pharmaceutical companies have biopharmaceutical divisions.
The largest pure play global biotech company is the Danish firm, Novo Nordisk, with a market cap of $472 billion in November 2024. Other large biotech companies include Amgen, AbbVie, Roche, Thermo Fisher, and CSL.
For example, Roche is not a pure play biotech firm, but is a global leader in revenue with regard to biotech therapies. Amgen was the world’s largest pure-play biotech company, with $28.2 billion revenue in 2023.
Novo Nordisk A/S, headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with a revenue of $39.33 billion
Amgen, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, generated $32.53 billion in revenue
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., headquartered in Westchester County, New York, generated a revenue of $13.85 billion
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Boston, Massachusetts, has a revenue of $10.62 billion
Moderna Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, generated $5.07 billion
BeiGene Ltd., headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a revenue of $3.32 billion
BioNTech SE, based in Mainz, Germany, racked in $3.30 billion
Genmab, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, generated $2.87 billion
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., headquartered in San Rafael, California, has a revenue of $2.75 billion
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, generated $2.09 billion
Argenx, headquartered in Breda, Netherlands, generated $1.61 billion.
Top 50 Biotech Companies by Market Cap (2024)
Data from CompaniesMarketCap shows the top 50 global biotech companies by market capitalization.
S/N
Biotech Companies
Location
Market Cap
1
Eli Lilly
Indianapolis, Indiana
$722.67 billion
2
Novo Nordisk A/S
Bagsværd, Denmark
$495.25 billion
3
Johnson and Johnson
New Brunswick, New Jersey
$360.18 billion
4
AbbVie
North Chicago, Illinois
$312.02 billion
5
Merck
Rahway, New Jersey,
$262.55 billion
6
Roche
Basel, Switzerland
$235.24 billion
7
AstraZeneca
Cambridge, United Kingdom
$210.73 billion
8
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Waltham, Massachusetts
$205.49 billion
9
Novartis
Basel, Switzerland
$203.34 billion
10
Amgen
Thousand Oaks, California
$149.23 billion
11
Pfizer
Manhattan, New York City
$147.90 billion
12
Sanofi
Paris, France
$122.31 billion
13
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Boston, Massachusetts
$122.06 billion
14
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Princeton, New Jersey
$119.07 billion
15
Gilead Sciences
Foster City, California
$115.08 billion
16
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Westchester County, New York
$86.59 billion
17
CSL
Melbourne, Australia
$86.42 billion
18
Zoetis
Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
$80.37 billion
19
Chugai Pharmaceutical
Tokyo, Japan
$73.36 billion
20
GlaxoSmithKline
Brentford, United Kingdom
$71.83 billion
21
Daiichi Sankyō
Tokyo, Japan
$56.01 billion
22
Sun Pharmaceutical
Goregaon, Mumbai, India
$51.33 billion
23
Samsung Biologics
Incheon, South Korea
$47.19 billion
24
Takeda Pharmaceutical
Tokyo, Japan
$43.61 billion
25
Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine
Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China
$43.36 billion
26
Lonza
Basel, Switzerland
$42.31 billion
27
Agilent Technologies
Santa Clara, California
$41.06 billion
28
Argenx
Breda, Netherlands
$36.96 billion
29
UCB
Brussels, Belgium
$36.21 billion
30
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Cambridge, Massachusetts
$33.00 billion
31
DexCom
San Diego, California
$31.01 billion
32
Otsuka Holdings
Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan
$30.84 billion
33
BioNTech
Mainz, Germany
$28.96 billion
34
Novozymes
Bagsværd, Denmark
$27.07 billion
35
Celltrion
Incheon, South Korea
$26.45 billion
36
Galderma Group
Lausanne, Switzerland
$24.13 billion
37
Illumina
San Diego, California, US
$23.55 billion
38
WuXi AppTec
Shanghai, China
$23.38 billion
39
Biogen
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
$22.79 billion
40
BeiGene
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. Beijing, China; Basel, Switzerland
