Global leading pharma and biotech companies by total revenue in 2017

Johnson & Johnson was ranked as the leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based on total revenue in 2017, generating approximately 76.5 billion U.S. dollars. The American multinational corporation made around 19 billion U.S. dollars more than the next ranked company, Swiss healthcare firm Roche.Top companies cannot rest on their laurelsDespite suffering some setbacks, Johnson & Johnson’s total revenue has steadily increased since 2005. The company’s revenue is divided into three key divisions, with sales from the pharmaceutical segment accounting for the largest share in recent years. Creating groundbreaking treatments is one way for Johnson & Johnson to maintain its position at the top of the rankings, but developing new medicines requires large amounts of money. The company’s expenditure on research and development (R&D) is rising each year and exceeded ten billion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2017.Pharma and biopharma: what are the differences?Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies both produce medicines, but there are differences in the method by which the products are manufactured: traditional pharmaceutical companies develop drugs that are primarily made from synthetic chemical sources, while the medicines manufactured by biopharmaceutical firms are done so using living organisms. Thanks to advances in genetic testing and a greater focus on R&D, many traditional pharmaceutical companies are moving toward therapies processed in the biotechnology industry.

约翰逊与约翰逊公司凭借2017年的总收入排名医药和生物技术行业的首位，其总收入约为765亿美元。作为一家美国跨国公司，其收入较排名第二的瑞士医疗保健企业罗氏高出约190亿美元。尽管遭遇了一些挫折，自2005年以来，约翰逊与约翰逊公司的总收入稳步增长。公司的收入分为三大板块，其中，近年来，制药板块的销售额占据了最大份额。约翰逊与约翰逊公司通过创造划时代的治疗方案来维持其排名首位的位置，但开发新药需要大量的资金投入。公司每年的研发（R&D）支出正在增加，并于2017年首次超过100亿美元。关于制药与生物制药：二者有何区别？制药公司和生物制药公司均生产药品，但在产品制造方法上存在差异：传统制药公司主要开发由合成化学来源制成的药物，而生物制药公司的药品则通过利用生物体进行制造。得益于基因检测技术的进步以及对研发的重视程度提高，许多传统制药公司正逐渐转向生物技术行业中的治疗方法。