01 Industry overview
The pharmaceutical industry at a glance
The pharmaceutical industry generated an estimated $1.53 trillion in worldwide prescription sales in 2024, with growth concentrated in the United States, specialty medicines and high-value innovative therapies.
- $1.53T[104]
- Global prescription sales, 2024
- 53%[28]
- U.S. market share, 2025
- 950,000[105]
- European pharma jobs, 2024
- 46[25]
- FDA novel drugs approved, 2025
- Market size
- The worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market was worth an estimated €1.414 trillion, or $1.529 trillion, at ex-factory prices in 2024. EFPIA’s estimate covers retail and hospital prescription medicines and is based on IQVIA MIDAS audited sales.[104]
- Forecast & CAGR
- IQVIA’s outlook projects global medicine spending of approximately $2.238 trillion by 2028, implying a 7.4% compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028. Evaluate forecasts worldwide prescription drug sales above $2 trillion by 2032, with growth exceeding 7% annually from 2025 to 2032.[28][106]
- Market share & regions
- North America accounted for 54.8% of the global prescription market in 2024, followed by Europe at 22.7%, China at 7.1%, Japan at 4.0%, Latin America at 4.1%, and Africa, Asia excluding China and Japan, and Australia at 7.4%. IQVIA reported that the United States alone represented 53% of the market in 2025.[104][28]
- Segmentation
- In 2025, oncology, immunology and diabetes together represented 43% of global pharmaceutical value. Obesity medicines became one of the five largest therapy areas and contributed almost $31 billion in year-on-year growth, according to IQVIA.[28]
- Key players & concentration
- Commercial value is increasingly concentrated in blockbuster medicines: products representing only 2% to 4% of branded medicines accounted for 63% of global branded-medicine sales at list prices in 2024. Blockbuster sales totaled approximately $700 billion between 2000 and 2024, or nearly half of worldwide prescription-medicine spending.[28]
- Pricing
- For Europe, EFPIA estimates that the manufacturer received 67.0% of the average retail price of a medicine in 2023, while wholesalers received 10.5%, pharmacists 5.0%, and taxes and other state charges 17.5%. In the United States, Medicare’s first negotiated prices covered 10 Part D drugs for initial application in 2026.[104][107]
- Trends, drivers & challenges
- Growth is being driven by innovative biologics, oncology, immunology, diabetes and obesity treatments; IQVIA estimated that 73 novel active substances launched globally in 2025. Key challenges include patent expiries, constrained healthcare-system budgets, supply-chain fragility and drug shortages; the FDA identified four new U.S. drug shortages in 2025 while preventing 330 shortages.[28][25]
- Consumer behavior & competition
- Competition is intensifying between innovative branded medicines, generics and biosimilars, while affordability remains a central consumer concern. FDA reported that only four new U.S. drug shortages occurred in 2025, down from a peak of 251 in 2011, while its generic-drug oversight program was nearing pre-pandemic inspection coverage.[25]
- M&A
- Life-sciences M&A activity rebounded in 2025: Deloitte recorded 193 transactions worth $220 billion through the end of November, with an average deal size of $1.1 billion. IQVIA reported that M&A volume fell 7% year over year to a five-year low, but total value increased because of nine transactions exceeding $10 billion.[12][28]
- Regulation
- The U.S. Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program began applying negotiated maximum fair prices to 10 selected Part D drugs in 2026. CMS issued a further final rule on November 5, 2026, codifying policies for negotiation cycles covering initial price applicability year 2029 and beyond.[107]
- Latest news
- The most recent major policy developments include the U.S. administration’s August 31, 2026 announcement of nine additional pharmaceutical pricing agreements, bringing the reported total to 26 manufacturers and 89% of the branded-drug market. On November 5, 2026, CMS also finalized rules governing future Medicare drug-price negotiations.[108][107]
02 Ranking
Top 10 Companies in the Pharmaceutical Industry
The leading companies in the pharmaceutical industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.
Updated November 9, 2026 · Next review December 9, 2026
Verdict
Eli Lilly and Company leads Gitnux's 2026 pharmaceutical ranking with an Overall score of 9.8, with $36.5 billion in combined 2025 revenue from Mounjaro and Zepbound. Novartis is the highest-ranked pharmaceutical company at 9.3, with 304 million people worldwide reached by Novartis medicines.
Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓
Editor's top 3 picks
Where to start, by need.
#1 Overall · Leader in diabetes & obesity therapies
Eli Lilly and Company
US
Ranked #1 · 9.8 · Diabetes & obesity therapies
Why we picked it: Innovative medicines in diabetes and obesity, with 44.7% revenue growth and 40.4% operating margin.
Leader in oncology & specialty care
Novartis
CH
Ranked #2 · 9.3 · Oncology & specialty care
Why we picked it: Innovative oncology and specialty care, with medicines reaching 304 million people worldwide.
Leader in pharmaceuticals & diagnostics
Roche
CH
Ranked #3 · 9.3 · Pharmaceuticals & diagnostics
Why we picked it: Innovative pharmaceuticals tied to a diagnostics business, with CHF 47.7 billion 2025 pharmaceutical sales.
Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.
Full ranking
Sort by
| # | Company | Overall ↓ | Impact | Performance | Momentum | Innovation | Company snapshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli Lilly and Company Diabetes & obesity therapies · US | 9.8 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.9 | |
Company snapshot · Eli Lilly and Company · Data as of November 9, 2026 Mounjaro and Zepbound generated $36.5 billion in combined 2025 revenue.[109]
| |||||||
| 2 | Novartis Oncology & specialty care · CH | 9.3 | 9.7 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 9.6 | |
Company snapshot · Novartis · Data as of November 9, 2026 Novartis medicines reached 304 million people worldwide.[110]
| |||||||
| 3 | Roche Pharmaceuticals & diagnostics · CH | 9.3 | 9.8 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.9 | |
Company snapshot · Roche · Data as of November 9, 2026 Pharmaceuticals sales reached CHF 47.7 billion in 2025.[111]
| |||||||
| 4 | Novo Nordisk Diabetes & obesity therapies · DK | 9.2 | 9.7 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 9.9 | |
Company snapshot · Novo Nordisk · Data as of November 9, 2026 Novo Nordisk reached 45.6 million people living with obesity and diabetes in 2025.[112]
| |||||||
| 5 | AstraZeneca Innovative medicines blocks · GB | 9.2 | 9.7 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 9.6 | |
Company snapshot · AstraZeneca · Data as of November 9, 2026 AstraZeneca reported $58.7 billion in 2025 total revenue and 16 blockbuster medicines.[113]
| |||||||
| 6 | Johnson & Johnson Innovative medicines and medical technologies · US | 9.1 | 9.9 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 9.6 | |
Company snapshot · Johnson & Johnson · Data as of November 9, 2026 Innovative Medicine generated $60.4 billion in worldwide 2025 sales.[114]
| |||||||
| 7 | GSK Specialty medicines, vaccines and general medicines · GB | 9.0 | 9.6 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 9.2 | |
Company snapshot · GSK · Data as of November 9, 2026 GSK supplied more than 2 billion medicine packs and vaccine doses in 2025.[115]
| |||||||
| 8 | Sanofi Biopharmaceuticals and vaccines · FR | 9.0 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 8.7 | |
Company snapshot · Sanofi · Data as of November 9, 2026 Sanofi's 2025 workforce was 99.6% assigned to its biopharma business.[116]
| |||||||
| 9 | Bristol Myers Squibb Oncology, immunology and specialty medicines · US | 8.5 | 8.9 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 9.6 | |
Company snapshot · Bristol Myers Squibb · Data as of November 9, 2026 Bristol Myers Squibb reported $48.2 billion in 2025 total revenues.[117]
| |||||||
| 10 | Gilead Sciences Antiviral, oncology and specialty medicines · US | 8.5 | 8.8 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 9.3 | |
Company snapshot · Gilead Sciences · Data as of November 9, 2026 Gilead's 2025 product sales were $28.9 billion, led by HIV and liver-disease products.[118]
| |||||||
How we score
- Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
- Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
- Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
- Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.
Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.
Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.
Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 9, 2026.
Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.
Cite this ranking
APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the pharmaceutical industry. In Pharmaceutical Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pharmaceutical-industry-statistics/#top-companies
report visual · Projection
FDA-approved original applications: ANDAs (United States)
FDA-approved original applications: ANDAs fell from 725 in 2020 to 682 in 2025.
725 count
Start
-1.22%
CAGR · 5y
682 count
Projected
20202025
source-verifiedfda.gov2025
03 Trends & forecasts
Top 10 Pharmaceutical Industry Trends & Forecasts 2027
What is changing in the pharmaceutical industry, with the evidence behind each trend and a forecast for 2027.
Forecasts were generated by an AI model from the cited evidence. They are estimates, not guarantees.
01Medicine spending continues above five percent
High confidenceIQVIA expects global medicine spending to exceed $2.6 trillion by 2030, with annual growth of 5%–8%. Growth is expected to come mainly from innovative therapies in developed markets.[28]
Forecast 2027: Global pharmaceutical spending is likely to grow by roughly 6%–8% in 2027, supported by new product launches and expanding treatment volumes. Growth should remain stronger in specialty medicines than in mature primary-care products.
02Specialty therapies capture more spending
High confidenceIQVIA identifies oncology, immunology, diabetes and obesity as the largest drivers of medicine-spending growth over the next five years. These areas are dominated by innovative and relatively high-cost therapies.[28]
Forecast 2027: In 2027, specialty products should take a larger share of pharmaceutical value, even where prescription volumes grow more slowly. Oncology and immunology are likely to remain the largest specialty contributors, while metabolic treatments add incremental growth.
03Obesity medicines expand rapidly
High confidenceIQVIA’s therapy-area outlook identifies obesity as a major growth category, with forecast growth substantially above most established therapy areas. Its U.S. outlook also lists obesity among the principal sources of new-medicine growth through the next five years.[28]
Forecast 2027: Obesity medicines are likely to remain one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical segments in 2027 as more patients receive treatment and additional formulations and indications enter the market. Supply capacity, reimbursement restrictions and affordability will limit how quickly demand converts into sales.
04Novel-drug output remains elevated
Medium confidenceFDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research approved 46 novel drugs in 2025, including 34 new molecular entities and 12 biologics. The 2025 total was similar to the average of the previous five years and above the historical average since 2007.[25]
Forecast 2027: The industry is likely to deliver approximately 45–55 U.S. novel-drug approvals in 2027, assuming regulatory throughput remains close to recent levels. Oncology, rare diseases, immunology, neurology and metabolic disorders should account for a substantial share.
05Biologics retain commercial leadership
High confidenceFDA reported that 12 of the 46 novel drugs approved in 2025 were biologics. FDA also stated that biologic medicines represented only 5% of U.S. prescriptions but 51% of total drug spending in 2024.[25]
Forecast 2027: Biologics should continue to gain value share in 2027 as antibody, protein, cell and gene therapies expand. Their high prices will simultaneously increase payer pressure and accelerate demand for biosimilar competition.
06Biosimilar competition broadens
High confidenceFDA reported that CDER approved 18 new biosimilars for 10 reference products in 2025. FDA’s current product information also shows additional biosimilar approvals during 2026, including products referencing Lucentis, Rituxan, Novolog, Simponi, Neulasta, Lantus and Prolia.[25]
Forecast 2027: Biosimilar launches should accelerate in 2027 as more major biologics face competition and interchangeable products improve substitution prospects. Adoption will be strongest in mature markets with established reimbursement and pharmacy-substitution systems.
07Medicare negotiation widens pricing pressure
High confidenceCMS finalized a permanent framework for Medicare drug-price negotiation on November 5, 2026. The agency will select up to 20 additional negotiation-eligible drugs for the price-applicability year 2029 cycle by February 1, 2027.[107]
Forecast 2027: In 2027, manufacturers will increasingly adjust launch prices, evidence generation and portfolio strategy in anticipation of broader negotiation eligibility. The immediate effect will be concentrated on selected high-spend products, but the policy will influence pricing expectations across the U.S. market.
08AI moves from pilots toward workflows
Medium confidenceRecent pharmaceutical research describes AI platforms spanning generative chemistry, target discovery, phenomics, repurposing and automated design-make-test-learn cycles. The literature also notes that AI-designed therapeutics have entered human trials, while clinically validated impact remains limited.[119]
Forecast 2027: In 2027, AI adoption should expand most visibly in target identification, molecule design, clinical-trial recruitment and manufacturing analytics rather than in fully autonomous drug discovery. Companies will increasingly require prospective validation, governance and data-quality controls before scaling deployments.
09Pharma M&A favors larger assets
High confidenceDeloitte recorded 193 life-sciences M&A transactions worth $220 billion through November 2025, with an average deal size of $1.1 billion. Deal activity shifted toward derisked assets and competitive disease areas, while venture deal volume declined by more than 30% from 2024.[12]
Forecast 2027: Strategic acquisitions should remain active in 2027, particularly for late-stage clinical assets and proven platforms in oncology, immunology and metabolic disease. Deal volume may remain moderate, but transaction value should stay elevated because buyers are prioritizing fewer, larger and less risky assets.
10Shortage prevention improves but remains fragile
Medium confidenceFDA reported only four new U.S. drug shortages in 2025, compared with a peak of 251 in 2011. The agency’s 2025 shortage report also describes continued efforts to prevent and mitigate shortages through regulatory and supply-chain interventions.[25]
Forecast 2027: The number of new shortages is likely to remain well below the historical peak in 2027, but vulnerabilities will persist for low-margin generics, sterile injectables and products dependent on concentrated manufacturing networks. Manufacturers and regulators will continue emphasizing redundancy, early-warning data and domestic or regional capacity.
04 Statistics
Technology & Innovation
AI adoption remains high across surveyed pharma and biotech groups, including 74% actively used AI in 2025 and 75% planning agentic AI. Operational compliance work shows 42% increased automation or robots in 2025.
AI in the pharmaceutical industry
- 82% of biopharma executives believed AI would fundamentally transform research and development in 2025.[1]
- 34% of surveyed biopharma organizations were piloting or using AI agents in research and development in 2025.[1]
- 74% of pharma and biotech respondents actively used AI in 2025.[2]
- 75% of pharmaceutical companies were planning, piloting or deploying agentic AI, while 7% had reached full production, in a 2025 executive poll across nine countries.[3]
- 57% of surveyed biopharma organizations were investing in AI for drug discovery in 2025.[1]
- 61% of pharma and biotech respondents cited predictive analytics as an AI focus area in 2025.[2]
Automation in the pharmaceutical industry
- 29% of pharmaceutical manufacturers added remote monitoring to meet regulatory requirements in 2025.[4]
- 42% of pharmaceutical manufacturers increased their use of automation or robots to meet regulatory requirements in 2025.[4]
- 62% of pharmaceutical manufacturers expanded employee training to meet regulatory requirements in 2025.[4]
- 49% of pharmaceutical manufacturers upgraded or retrofitted equipment to meet regulatory requirements in 2025.[4]
- 60% of pharmaceutical companies planned to explore or increase use of advanced technologies during the 18 months following a 2024 survey.[5]
- 33% of pharmaceutical manufacturers increased digital integration in operations, including connectivity and networking, in 2025.[4]
Digital Transformation in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 15.1% of global pharmaceutical-industry survey respondents reported that Pharma 4.0 digital transformation had not started in 2023.[6]
- 45% of pharmaceutical companies surveyed were pursuing digitalization as an innovation or technology in 2024.[7]
- 58.1% of global pharmaceutical-industry survey respondents were in the pilots or systematic-ongoing-actions stages of Pharma 4.0 adoption in 2023.[6]
- 13% of clinical-research organizations surveyed reported a comprehensive AI-driven digital programme in 2024.[8]
- 35% of clinical-research organizations surveyed were piloting digital technologies in 2024, up from 29% in 2019.[8]
Technology Adoption in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 63% of global biopharma respondents had adopted robotics and automation in 2023.[9]
- 37% of small biopharma respondents reported that more than 60% of their R&D laboratory instruments had automated data capture in 2024.[10]
- 55% of biopharma AI adopters reported using AI in process development in 2024.[11]
- 59% of global biopharma respondents had adopted artificial intelligence or machine learning in 2023.[9]
- 70% of global biopharma respondents had adopted an R&D data platform in 2023.[9]
Cloud Computing in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 18% of global biopharma respondents had adopted cloud-based scientific software or SaaS in 2023.[9]
- 49% of biopharma survey respondents reported using cloud computing to facilitate day-to-day work in 2021.[12]
- 23% of small biopharma respondents had adopted cloud-based scientific software or SaaS in 2024.[11]
- 17% of large biopharma respondents had adopted cloud-based scientific software or SaaS in 2024.[11]
- 77% of life-sciences commercial IT leaders reported investing primarily in cloud infrastructure in 2024.[13]
Big Data in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
05 Statistics
Data & Analytics
Revenue-management teams still depend on spreadsheets: 99% of executives said their revenue-management teams used spreadsheets in 2024. Data readiness is the constraint, with 96% reporting data not well-structured or AI-ready for scaling in 2025.
Business intelligence in the pharmaceutical industry
- 64% of pharmaceutical executives said their organizations purchased benchmarking data to support revenue-management decisions in 2024.[14]
- 59% of pharmaceutical executives were very willing to share data in exchange for industry benchmarks in a 2024 survey.[14]
- 68% of pharmaceutical companies planned to use advanced analytics for revenue management in 2024.[14]
- 99% of pharmaceutical executives said benchmarking data was critical for revenue-management insights in a 2024 industry survey.[14]
- 99% of pharmaceutical executives said their revenue-management teams used spreadsheets in 2024.[14]
- 36% of pharmaceutical executives were somewhat willing to share data in exchange for industry benchmarks in a 2024 survey.[14]
Data analytics in the pharmaceutical industry
- 53% of pharma and biotech respondents identified agentic AI among their top AI focus areas in NVIDIA’s 2026 survey.[2]
- 83% of pharma marketers surveyed in late 2023 were interested or very interested in data analytics for 2024.[15]
- 74% of pharma and biotech respondents identified generative AI and large language models among their top AI focus areas in NVIDIA’s 2026 survey.[2]
- 43% of small and midsize pharmaceutical companies used big data and analytics in 2024.[7]
- 48% of pharmaceutical companies used big data and analytics in 2024, rising to 55% among large companies.[7]
- 71% of pharma marketers surveyed in late 2023 were interested or very interested in digital tools intended to affect medication adherence.[15]
Data Quality in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- Across 116 commercial biopharma leaders in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific, 73% reported significant data quality issues in 2025.[16]
- Across 116 commercial biopharma leaders in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific, 81% identified data quality as their top data issue for the next 12 months in 2025.[16]
- Across 125 senior U.S. life-sciences leaders, 81% said accuracy and confidence in data were critical components of AI success in biopharma in 2026.[16]
- Across 116 commercial biopharma leaders in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific, 96% said their data was not well-structured or AI-ready for scaling in 2025.[16]
- Across 500 pharmaceutical and biotechnology executives globally, 44% said their organization was prepared on data quality and completeness in 2025.[1]
Data Governance in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- Across 200 global life-sciences R&D respondents, 51% identified maintenance and management of data standards and ontologies as a key FAIR-data need in 2024.[17]
- Across 500 pharmaceutical and biotechnology executives globally, 54% said their organization was prepared on data governance in 2025.[1]
- Across 200 global life-sciences R&D respondents, 46% called for templates for standardization and metadata to make data FAIR at scale in 2024.[17]
- Across 11 pharmaceutical regulatory organizations, 9% reported a comprehensive approach to onboarding standards such as IDMP and XEVMPD, with regular source qualification, connected systems and data cleaning in 2023.[18]
- Across 200 global life-sciences R&D respondents, 49% called for more data-governance frameworks to make data FAIR at scale in 2024.[17]
KPIs in the pharmaceutical industry
- 55% of surveyed pharmaceutical companies tracked escalation rate as a KPI in 2024.[19]
- 55% of surveyed pharmaceutical companies tracked topics or categories of questions as a KPI in 2024.[19]
- 45% of surveyed pharmaceutical companies tracked service level as a KPI in 2024.[19]
- 68% of biopharmaceutical companies with more than $20 billion in annual revenue used prescriptions as a commercial-model KPI in a 2023 survey.[20]
- 55% of biopharmaceutical companies with more than $20 billion in annual revenue used profitability as a commercial-model KPI in a 2023 survey.[20]
- 97% of surveyed pharmaceutical companies tracked medical-information inquiry volume as a KPI in 2024.[19]
06 Statistics
Strategy & Growth
Growth remains positive while underwriting varies by metric: global pharmaceutical-sales growth was 9.7% in 2024 and underlying prescription-drug-market growth was 9.2%. M&A value rose even as volume fell to a five-year low in 2025.
Growth in the pharmaceutical industry
- 9.7% was global pharmaceutical-sales growth in 2024.[21]
- 9.2% was underlying global prescription-drug-market growth in 2024, excluding COVID-19 products and foreign-exchange effects.[22]
- $915.2 billion was total U.S. pharmaceutical expenditure in 2025.[23]
- 12.7% was growth in total U.S. pharmaceutical expenditure in 2025.[23]
- $129 billion was pharmaceutical-industry R&D spending globally in 2022.[24]
- $1,127 billion was the global prescription-drug market in 2024 on an underlying basis.[22]
Differentiation in the pharmaceutical industry
- More than 50% of novel drugs approved by the U.S. FDA in 2024 had orphan-drug designations.[25]
- 18 biosimilars for eight reference products were approved by the U.S. FDA in 2024, a record annual total.[25]
- 43% of pharmaceutical product-indication pairs in development were cancer-related in 2023.[24]
- 27% of pharmaceutical product-indication pairs in development were cancer-related in 2013.[24]
- 9 biosimilars were approved as interchangeable by the U.S. FDA in 2024.[25]
- 60 biosimilar approvals had been reached by the U.S. FDA since the first approval in 2015, according to its 2024 report.[25]
Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry
- $1.4 billion was the average 2024 deal value across the large-pharma-company subset tracked by William Blair.[26]
- 193 life-sciences M&A transactions worth $220 billion had occurred by the end of November 2025.[12]
- 15 pharmaceutical and biotech acquisitions valued above $1 billion were announced in 2024.[27]
- $34.9 billion was total 2024 deal value across 15 large pharmaceutical companies tracked by William Blair.[26]
- $4.9 billion was the value of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ 2024 acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences, the largest individual biopharma M&A transaction that year.[28]
- 23% fewer life-sciences M&A deals were announced in Q4 2024 than in Q4 2023.[28]
Strategic partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry
- 7% was the decline in life-sciences M&A volume in 2025, reaching a five-year low.[28]
- 12% was the year-over-year decline in publicly disclosed life-sciences deals in 2025, spanning M&A, licensing and collaborative R&D.[28]
- $171 billion was the total value of pharmaceutical and life-sciences alliances in 2024 in Porsche Consulting’s analysis.[29]
- 269 pharmaceutical and life-sciences alliance deals were recorded in 2024, according to Porsche Consulting’s industry analysis.[29]
- $119 billion was the total value of pharmaceutical and life-sciences alliances in 2021 in Porsche Consulting’s comparison.[29]
- 292 pharmaceutical and life-sciences alliance deals were recorded in 2021 in Porsche Consulting’s comparison.[29]
07 Statistics
People & Workforce
Hiring demand is visible in U.S. postings, with 215,539 job postings recorded in 2024. Workforce constraints remain reported, with 35% of workforce need estimated unmet by available talent.
Hiring in the pharmaceutical industry
- 230,935 pharmaceutical-industry job postings were recorded in the United States in 2023.[30]
- Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Takeda and CSL were the five leading pharmaceutical hiring companies by U.S. job postings from 2021 through 2024.[30]
- 35% of the pharmaceutical and life-sciences workforce need was estimated to be unmet by available talent.[31]
- 36% of drug developers reported that talent shortages were limiting progress.[31]
- 215,539 pharmaceutical-industry job postings were recorded in the United States in 2024.[30]
Employee retention in the pharmaceutical industry
- 67% of life-sciences professionals said they would look for a new job within the following 12 months in a BioSpace community survey.[32]
- 75% of surveyed drug sponsors offered or planned to offer skills-development plans as a talent-retention measure.[33]
- 86% of surveyed drug sponsors offered or planned to offer flexible hours as a retention response.[33]
- 94% of surveyed drug sponsors offered or planned to offer hybrid working as a retention response.[33]
- 16.3% to 21% was the reported voluntary or overall turnover range for U.S. life-sciences and medical-device employees in an Aon survey.[33]
Remote Work in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- Among life-sciences companies with remote-work options, 50.0% cited competition with technology and other industries as a reason for their policy in 2023.[34]
- Across U.S. life sciences companies, 65.9% reported implementing, expanding, or considering remote-work options for at least some employees in 2023.[34]
- Among privately held life-sciences companies surveyed, 21.7% had some portion of their workforce fully remote in 2025.[35]
- Across U.S. chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, 5.7% of positions were fully remote in the 2024 hiring outlook survey.[36]
Hybrid Work in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- Among surveyed life-sciences employers in the BioHealth Capital Region, 60% expected at least a hybrid workforce after the pandemic in 2021.[37]
- Among life-sciences CEOs, 83% expected corporate employees whose roles were traditionally office-based to work in a hybrid environment three years after the 2024 survey.[38]
- Across U.S. chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, 44.5% of positions were fully hybrid in the 2024 hiring outlook survey.[36]
- Among surveyed life-sciences companies in the MassBio Human Resources Roundtable, 97% planned to implement hybrid work models for the long term in 2022.[39]
Upskilling in the pharmaceutical industry
- 75% of surveyed drug sponsors offered or planned to offer skills-development plans to retain employees.[33]
- 25% of life-sciences training respondents reported no internal training on the topic they needed in the 2025 Educo survey.[40]
- Eight of the 13 priority skills identified in the UK pharmaceutical-industry survey involved digital or data expertise.[31]
- 36% of life-sciences training respondents cited keeping up to date with new regulations as a training priority in 2025.[40]
Employee Engagement in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- Across the Culture Amp pharmaceuticals benchmark, 17% of employees disagreed that they had seen positive changes based on recent employee survey results in July 2026.[41]
- Across the Culture Amp pharmaceuticals benchmark, 18% of employees were thinking of or actively seeking another job in July 2026.[41]
- Across the Culture Amp pharmaceuticals benchmark, 91% of employees agreed they understood how their work contributed to company goals in July 2026.[41]
- At Amneal Pharmaceuticals, global employee engagement reached 88% in the company’s 2024 reporting year.[42]
DEI in the pharmaceutical industry
- 27% of pharma and med-tech top-management positions were held by women in 2024.[43]
- 33% of pharma and med-tech middle-management positions were held by women in 2024.[43]
- 57% of the U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine-manufacturing workforce was White in 2024.[44]
- 45% of pharma and med-tech non-management positions were held by women in 2024.[43]
08 Statistics
Customer & Sales
Post-congress engagement expectations remain high: 81% of healthcare professionals wanted contact within two weeks after a congress in 2024. Digital content influence is also measurable, with 80% expecting digital content to continue influencing prescribing behavior.
Customer experience in the pharmaceutical industry
- -10% was pharma’s average Net Promoter Score among more than 700 U.S. healthcare providers in 2025.[45]
- 76% of healthcare professionals wanted more or better access to treatment and patient-management guidelines in 2024.[46]
- 65 was UCB’s customer-experience score, ranking it first among pharmaceutical companies in the 2024 global survey.[8]
- 58 was the global pharmaceutical customer-experience score in 2024, classified as good rather than excellent.[8]
- 81% of healthcare professionals wanted contact from pharmaceutical companies within two weeks after a congress in 2024.[46]
Customer retention in the pharmaceutical industry
- 18% of medical-affairs professionals said customer data and insights were comprehensively acted on in 2024.[46]
- 57% of pharmaceutical respondents identified understanding healthcare-professional needs and behavior as their top engagement priority for 2024.[47]
- 35% of pharma marketers said customer data and insights were comprehensively acted on in 2024.[46]
- 49% of consumers who sourced GLP-1 medicines through informal channels were lapsed users in EY’s 2026 global survey.[48]
- 41% of consumers who sourced GLP-1 medicines through healthcare professionals were lapsed users in EY’s 2026 global survey.[48]
Customer acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry
- 30% of surveyed healthcare professionals had seen healthcare-product content on social media during the prior 12 months.[28]
- 43% of surveyed healthcare professionals had seen healthcare-product content in website or banner advertising during the prior 12 months.[28]
- 82% of healthcare professionals said digital healthcare content prompted them to want to learn more at least some of the time in IQVIA’s survey.[28]
- 44% of surveyed healthcare professionals had engaged with pharmaceutical or healthcare representatives through video conferencing during the preceding 12 months.[28]
- 80% of surveyed healthcare professionals expected digital content from healthcare manufacturers to continue influencing prescribing behavior.[28]
Customer loyalty in the pharmaceutical industry
- 46.6% of surveyed medicine consumers said they paid attention to advertisements for branded medicines in India in 2025.[49]
- 66.4% of surveyed medicine consumers identified safety as a factor contributing to satisfaction with branded medicines in India in 2025.[49]
- 53.4% of surveyed medicine consumers said they did not pay attention to advertisements for branded medicines in India in 2025.[49]
- 42.7% of surveyed medicine consumers identified effectiveness as a factor contributing to satisfaction with branded medicines in India in 2025.[49]
- 28.5% of surveyed medicine consumers were somewhat satisfied with branded medicines in India in 2025.[49]
Lead generation in the pharmaceutical industry
- 18% of healthcare professionals had seen pharmaceutical or healthcare-product content in mobile-app advertising during the prior 12 months.[28]
- 20% of healthcare professionals had seen pharmaceutical or healthcare-product content through streaming television during the prior 12 months.[28]
- 47% of healthcare professionals had engaged with pharmaceutical or healthcare representatives through email during the preceding 12 months.[28]
- 20% of healthcare professionals always wanted to learn more after seeing pharmaceutical or healthcare content through digital channels.[28]
- 36% of healthcare professionals had engaged with pharmaceutical or healthcare representatives through telephone calls during the preceding 12 months.[28]
09 Statistics
Marketing & Brand
Digital consumption priorities show up in survey results, with 45% of pharmaceutical respondents prioritizing good content for digital consumption in 2024. In 2026, 50% of healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers reported dedicated and growing creator or influencer budgets.
Marketing in the pharmaceutical industry
- 45% of pharmaceutical respondents prioritized providing good content for digital consumption in 2024.[47]
- 52% of surveyed pharmaceutical manufacturers planned to increase marketing budgets for virtual e-detailing in 2022.[50]
- 47% of pharmaceutical respondents prioritized improving customer experience in 2024.[47]
- 48% of surveyed pharmaceutical manufacturers planned to increase marketing budgets for prescriber engagement in 2022.[50]
- 57% of surveyed pharmaceutical manufacturers planned to increase marketing budgets for patient engagement in 2022.[50]
Digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry
- 37% was the pharmaceutical sector’s digital-strategy skills score in the 2023 benchmark.[51]
- 29% was the pharmaceutical sector’s PPC skills score in the 2023 benchmark.[51]
- 31% was the pharmaceutical sector’s SEO skills score in the 2023 benchmark.[51]
- 48% was the pharmaceutical sector’s email-marketing digital-skills score in the 2023 benchmark.[51]
- 24% was the pharmaceutical sector’s content-marketing skills score in the 2023 benchmark.[51]
Branding in the pharmaceutical industry
- 65 was UCB’s pharmaceutical customer-experience score and first-place ranking in the 2024 global survey, supporting its brand experience.[8]
- 53.4% of surveyed medicine consumers in India said they did not pay attention to advertisements for branded medicines in 2025.[49]
- 42.7% of surveyed medicine consumers in India cited effectiveness as a contributor to satisfaction with branded medicines in 2025.[49]
- 66.4% of surveyed medicine consumers in India cited safety as a contributor to satisfaction with branded medicines in 2025.[49]
- 49.8% of surveyed medicine consumers in India reported loyalty to particular brands because of perceived quality in 2025.[49]
Influencer Marketing in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 44% of physicians in Europe, APAC and North America said healthcare influencer or KOL content had changed their perception of a medication in 2024.[52]
- 10% of healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers said they did not invest in creator or influencer marketing in 2026, globally.[53]
- 4.5% of high-engagement prescription-drug promotion posts across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube came from pharmaceutical companies in the United States in 2025.[54]
- 50% of physicians in Europe, APAC and North America said healthcare influencer or KOL content had changed their prescribing choices in 2024.[52]
- 50% of healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers reported dedicated and growing budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026, globally.[53]
10 Statistics
Operations & Execution
Labor productivity changes stayed small recently, with 0.1% annual change in 2025 output per labor hour. Shortage prevention remains fragile, with FDA identifying four new U.S. drug shortages in 2025 while preventing 330 shortages.
Process optimization in the pharmaceutical industry
- 10-fold growth in global pharmaceutical trade over approximately 30 years has increased the need to optimize transnational production and distribution processes.[24]
- $57 billion is spent annually by the biopharmaceutical industry on new production facilities, highlighting the scale of manufacturing-capacity optimization efforts worldwide.[55]
- 2.8% was the 2023 year-over-year change in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing labor productivity.[56]
- -8.7% was the 2022 year-over-year change in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing labor productivity.[56]
- 3.3% was the 2024 year-over-year change in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing labor productivity.[56]
Operational efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry
- 0.1% was the 2025 annual change in labor productivity in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, measured as output per labor hour.[56]
- 2.8% was the 2023 annual increase in labor productivity in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.[56]
- -11.7% was the 2017 annual change in labor productivity in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.[56]
- -3.1% was the 2018 annual change in labor productivity in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.[56]
- -0.9% was the 2020 annual change in labor productivity in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.[56]
Quality management in the pharmaceutical industry
- 30 U.S. pharmaceutical product recalls were attributed to labeling problems during FDA fiscal year 2024.[25]
- 96 U.S. pharmaceutical product recalls were attributed to failed specifications during FDA fiscal year 2024.[25]
- 100 U.S. pharmaceutical product recalls were attributed to current good manufacturing practice deviations during FDA fiscal year 2024.[25]
- 9 centrally authorized products were recalled in the European Union because of confirmed quality defects during 2024.[57]
- 41 U.S. pharmaceutical product recalls were attributed to defective products during FDA fiscal year 2024.[25]
Supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry
- 15 new drug shortages were identified in the United States during calendar year 2024.[25]
- 98 drug shortages were identified in the United States by the USP Medicine Supply Map for 2024.[58]
- 100% of new injectable shortages in the United States were accurately predicted as high risk by the USP Medicine Supply Map in 2024.[59]
- More than four years was the average duration of a U.S. drug shortage in 2024, according to the USP Medicine Supply Map.[59]
- 98% of sterile injectable shortages in the United States were classified as high risk by the USP Medicine Supply Map in 2024.[59]
Outsourcing / Offshoring in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 40% of surveyed pharma and biotech CDMO decision-makers identified small-molecule API as the most outsourced product in July 2024.[60]
- 41% of surveyed pharmaceutical and biotech R&D leaders increased their use of functional-service-provider outsourcing versus two years earlier in 2023.[7]
- 12% of total API volume used in the United States was produced domestically in 2024, with most supply coming from India and the European Union.[61]
- 54% of global biotech and pharma companies outsourced regulatory activities in 2024, according to an IQVIA industry report.[28]
- 74% of surveyed pharmaceutical and biotech R&D leaders ranked patient recruitment among the top five drug-development activities likely to be outsourced in 2023.[7]
11 Statistics
Finance & Pricing
Price pressure is measurable through list and net dynamics: 51% inflation-adjusted median annual net price increase for drugs launched between 2022 and 2024. Gross-to-net rebates and discounts reached $356 billion for 2024 U.S. brand-name medicines.
Pricing strategy in the pharmaceutical industry
- 5.4% was the approximate average list-price increase for U.S. medicines in 2023, according to SSR Health data summarized by the IQVIA Institute.[62]
- 51% was the increase in inflation-adjusted median annual net prices for drugs launched in the United States between 2022 and 2024.[63]
- $5.10 was the average U.S. price of a generic oral solid medicine in 2024, up from $4.10 in 2023.[59]
- 19% was the increase in the average U.S. price of generic injectable medicines from 2023 to 2024.[59]
- $90.25 was the average U.S. price of a generic injectable medicine in 2024, up from $75.87 in 2023.[59]
Cost reduction in the pharmaceutical industry
- $25 billion was the annual cost to U.S. hospitals from avoidable pharmaceutical supply-chain issues, according to a 2024 industry analysis.[64]
- 25% was the pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditure intensity in 2024, measured as R&D spending as a share of sales.[65]
- 73% was the increase in R&D expenditure by the largest pharmaceutical companies between 2019 and 2024.[65]
- -11.7% was the 2017 annual change in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing labor productivity.[56]
- -10.0% was the 2012 annual change in U.S. pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing labor productivity.[56]
Profitability in the pharmaceutical industry
- Less than half of list prices was the selling-price level reached for brand-name medicines at the largest drugmakers after rebates, discounts and fees in 2024.[66]
- 21% of global revenue was spent on R&D by PhRMA members in 2024, according to industry data summarized by Statista.[67]
- $356 billion was the gross-to-net value of rebates and discounts paid by manufacturers for U.S. brand-name medicines in 2024.[68]
- More than $190 billion was spent on R&D by the largest pharmaceutical companies in 2024, an investment affecting industry profitability and product returns.[65]
- $288 billion was the estimated global pharmaceutical R&D expenditure in 2024.[32]
Financial planning in the pharmaceutical industry
- 24% was the inflation-adjusted increase in median annual list prices for U.S. drugs launched from 2022 through 2024.[63]
- 73% was the increase in R&D expenditure by the largest pharmaceutical companies from 2019 to 2024.[65]
- 51% was the inflation-adjusted increase in median annual net prices for U.S. drugs launched from 2022 through 2024.[63]
- 25% was the share of sales devoted to R&D by the pharmaceutical industry in 2024.[65]
- $190 billion was the R&D expenditure reported by the largest pharmaceutical companies in 2024.[65]
12 Statistics
Product & Service
Pipeline outcomes reflect low overall translation, with a 5% composite success rate from Phase I through registration in 2021. Access and utilization are tracked at scale, with 215 billion days of prescription therapy recorded in the United States in 2024.
Product development in the pharmaceutical industry
- 5% was the composite success rate from Phase I through registration in the pharmaceutical R&D pipeline in 2021, according to IQVIA.[69]
- 89% of pharmaceutical applications advanced successfully through registration during 2010–2021.[69]
- 14.3% of drug candidates from 18 leading pharmaceutical companies achieved first FDA approval after entering Phase I, based on 2,092 compounds studied from 2006–2022.[70]
- 67% of pharmaceutical clinical programs advanced from Phase III to at least the next phase during 2010–2021.[69]
- 8.57% was the average clinical-trial success rate for pharmaceutical programs during 2018–2022 in one cost-effectiveness analysis.[71]
Product lifecycle in the pharmaceutical industry
- 89 post-approval treatments were associated with a 14-year effective exclusivity period for small-molecule drugs in a study of products approved from 2015–2024.[72]
- 31.7 post-approval treatments were estimated to be lost when pharmaceutical exclusivity was shortened by five years in the same small-molecule analysis.[72]
- 12–18 months before loss of exclusivity, pharmaceutical companies commonly adopt surge pricing to maximize earnings before patent expiry.[48]
- 10–15 years is the general patent-period range during which an innovative pharmaceutical product retains exclusive legal rights after launch.[48]
- 5.9 years was the mean additional exclusivity associated with nonprimary patents for FDA-approved small-molecule drugs in 2019.[54]
After-sales in the pharmaceutical industry
- 69% of surveyed health-system specialty pharmacies used or planned to use electronic refill requests for specialty-pharmacy services.[73]
- 44% of surveyed patients wanted to learn about pharmaceutical patient-support programs online, compared with 10% who said they had learned about them online.[74]
- 8% of surveyed patients had ever used a pharmaceutical patient-support program during their lifetime.[74]
- 77.8% of health-system specialty pharmacies offered some form of continuity-of-care service in the 2024 practice survey.[73]
- 3% of potentially eligible patients were currently using pharmaceutical patient-support programs in a survey of nearly 5,000 patients.[74]
Value proposition in the pharmaceutical industry
- 32 metrics were used to assess pharmaceutical-company performance across governance of access, R&D, and product delivery in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 215 billion days of prescription therapy were recorded in the United States in 2024, representing a 1.7% increase in utilization.[76]
- 20 leading pharmaceutical companies were assessed on access to essential healthcare products in 113 low- and middle-income countries in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- $805.9 billion was total U.S. pharmaceutical expenditure in 2024, up 10.2% from 2023.[77]
- 81 diseases, conditions, and pathogens were included in the 2024 assessment of pharmaceutical-company access strategies.[75]
13 Statistics
Sustainability & Ethics
Sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry
- 35.1 thousand metric tons of non-hazardous waste were generated by Pfizer in 2024.[78]
- 3.3 million cubic metres of water were consumed by Pfizer in 2024.[78]
- 70% of 86 European pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies scored between 31 and 70 on EthiFinance’s 0–100 sustainability rating scale in 2024.[79]
- 35% of 86 European pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies had quantitative greenhouse-gas reduction targets in 2024.[79]
- 397 million tCO₂e were emitted by the global biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 in 2023.[80]
ESG in the pharmaceutical industry
- 15 priority topics were analysed across governance of access, research and development, and product delivery in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 20 leading pharmaceutical companies were assessed in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 81 diseases, conditions and pathogens were within the scope of the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- More than four-fifths of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector’s carbon footprint came from Scope 3 emissions, according to EthiFinance’s 2024 analysis.[79]
- 86 European pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies were assessed in EthiFinance’s 2024 ESG ratings study.[79]
Ethics in the pharmaceutical industry
- 1.87 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for product development access performance.[75]
- 2.40 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for intellectual-property strategy.[75]
- 3.84 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for responsible business practices.[75]
- 8 best practices were identified in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index’s assessment of pharmaceutical-company access efforts.[75]
- 17 of 20 pharmaceutical companies had direct board-level responsibility for access to medicine in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
CSR in the pharmaceutical industry
- 3.50 out of 5 was Pfizer’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 3.43 out of 5 was AstraZeneca’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 3.52 out of 5 was Sanofi’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 3.72 out of 5 was GSK’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 3.43 out of 5 was Johnson & Johnson’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
Circular economy in the pharmaceutical industry
- 67.3 thousand metric tons of Pfizer’s hazardous waste were disposed of in 2024.[78]
- 15.4 thousand metric tons of Pfizer’s non-hazardous waste were disposed of in 2024.[78]
- 3.3 million cubic metres was Pfizer’s reported water consumption in 2024, a resource-use metric relevant to pharmaceutical circularity.[78]
- 19.7 thousand metric tons of Pfizer’s non-hazardous waste were diverted from disposal in 2024.[78]
- 79.9 thousand metric tons of hazardous waste were generated by Pfizer in 2024, providing the company’s reported hazardous-waste circularity baseline.[78]
Carbon footprint in the pharmaceutical industry
- More than 25% of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies had medium-term Scope 1 and 2 targets aligned with a 1.5°C pathway in the 2024 report.[80]
- 6.5 times greater than combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions were pharmaceutical and biotechnology private-company Scope 3 emissions in 2023.[80]
- 259 million tCO₂e were emitted by public biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 in 2023.[80]
- 138 million tCO₂e were emitted by private biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 in 2023.[80]
- 5.4 times greater than combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions were pharmaceutical and biotechnology public-company Scope 3 emissions in 2023.[80]
14 Statistics
Risk, Compliance & Legal
Cyber risk shows up as both incidents and uncertainty, with 98% of surveyed pharmaceutical firms experiencing at least one cybersecurity intrusion in the 12 months covered by Fortinet’s 2021 survey. Data governance readiness is weak in practice, with 27% having little or no confidence in identifying where their data was stored in 2025.
Compliance in the pharmaceutical industry
- 4.25 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for product donations.[75]
- 3.77 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for pharmaceutical product quality and supply.[75]
- 2.75 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for inclusive pharmaceutical business models.[75]
- 2.65 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for registration of pharmaceutical products.[75]
- 2.95 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for local pharmaceutical manufacturing.[75]
Risk Management in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 85% of global life science firms had a formal business continuity process covering the whole business in 2024.[81]
- 52% of middle-market life sciences companies reported having a business continuity plan in place.[82]
- 81% of middle-market life sciences companies said risk management was a top priority, rising to 90% among the fastest-growing organizations.[82]
- 44% of global life science firms reported no standardized or consistently effective intellectual-property risk-management process in 2024.[81]
- 90% of clinical trials managed by surveyed CROs included at least one risk-based monitoring or risk-based quality-management component in 2025.[83]
Cybersecurity in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 52% of surveyed middle-market life sciences companies reported experiencing a cybersecurity breach.[82]
- 40% of surveyed pharmaceutical businesses experienced outages affecting productivity, safety, compliance, revenue, or brand image.[84]
- 28% of surveyed pharmaceutical businesses lost business-critical data or intellectual property because of cybersecurity incidents.[84]
- 27% of healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical respondents had little or no confidence in identifying where their data was stored in 2025.[85]
- 98% of surveyed pharmaceutical firms experienced at least one cybersecurity intrusion in the 12 months covered by Fortinet’s 2021 survey.[84]
Data Privacy in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 61% of surveyed pharmaceuticals and life sciences organizations identified GDPR as a top-two privacy and compliance focus in 2024.[86]
- 66% of pharma, biotech, and medical-device respondents said patient privacy presented a challenge when complying with journal data-sharing policies in 2024.[87]
- 84% of surveyed pharmaceuticals and life sciences organizations said measuring and managing sensitive-content compliance required some to significant improvement in 2024.[86]
- Stricter privacy regulation was associated with an approximately 39% reduction in R&D spending by global pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms four years after implementation.[88]
- 39% of surveyed pharmaceuticals and life sciences organizations said they tagged and classified around three-quarters of their unstructured data in 2024.[86]
Crisis Management in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector (sector benchmark)
- 48% of surveyed global life science firms identified natural disasters as a major supply-chain risk for the following two years.[81]
- 61% of surveyed global life science firms identified panic buying and stockpiling as a major supply-chain risk for the following two years.[81]
- 40% of surveyed pharmaceutical firms maintained inventory buffers of one to three months to protect against supply-chain disruption.[89]
- 52% of surveyed global life science firms identified contract-manufacturing issues as a major supply-chain risk for the following two years.[81]
- 50% of surveyed global life science firms identified logistics and warehousing shortages as a major supply-chain risk for the following two years.[81]
Governance in the pharmaceutical industry
- 2.21 out of 5 was Merck & Co.’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 2.21 out of 5 was Gilead Sciences’ overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 55% was the weighting assigned to product delivery in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
- 4.33 out of 5 was the 2024 Access to Medicine Index industry score for governance and strategy.[75]
- 1.61 out of 5 was AbbVie’s overall score in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index.[75]
15 Statistics
Globalization & Expansion
Trade expansion is visible in Europe: EU exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products rose 13.5% in 2024 to €313.4 billion. Clinical-trial reporting also widened, with 54.6% of studies reporting both race and ethnicity in 2024.
Globalization in the pharmaceutical industry
- 13.5% was the increase in European Union exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products in 2024, reaching €313.4 billion.[90]
- 73% of global pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing exports originated in Europe in 2022.[91]
- $844 billion was the value of global pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing goods exports in 2022.[91]
- 13% of global pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing exports came from Asia in 2022.[91]
- 12% of global pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing exports came from North America in 2022.[91]
Cultural adaptation in the pharmaceutical industry
- 54.6% of clinical studies reported both race and ethnicity in 2024, compared with 7.4% in 2013.[19]
- 23% of pivotal trials for drugs approved in the United States in 2023 enrolled representative numbers of Black participants.[19]
- 81% of pivotal trials for drugs approved in the United States in 2023 enrolled representative numbers of Asian participants.[19]
- 30% of pivotal trials for drugs approved in the United States in 2023 enrolled representative numbers of Hispanic participants.[19]
- About 31,000 patients participated in trials supporting the 50 novel drugs approved by the FDA in 2024.[92]
Supplier management in the pharmaceutical industry
- 10% of global exports of high-value pharmaceutical products came from the United States in the cited global value-chain analysis.[93]
- 7.9% was India’s compound annual growth rate for generic API exports from 2012 to 2022.[93]
- 2,500 employees worked at Baxter’s North Carolina pharmaceutical manufacturing facility when it closed after Hurricane Helene in 2024.[94]
- 1.47% was the global average compound annual growth rate for API exports from 2012 to 2022.[93]
- 61% of global exports of high-value pharmaceutical products came from the EU-27 in the cited global value-chain analysis.[93]
Stakeholder management in the pharmaceutical industry
- 55% of pharmaceutical-company survey respondents identified patient recruitment as a top-five clinical-development challenge in 2024.[7]
- 21% of pharmaceutical-company survey respondents ranked patient diversity among their top five challenges in 2024.[7]
- 30% of pharmaceutical-company survey respondents ranked maximizing asset value or return on investment among their top five challenges in 2024.[7]
- 23% of pharmaceutical-company survey respondents ranked patient retention in clinical trials among their top five challenges in 2024.[7]
- 42% of pharmaceutical-company survey respondents ranked increasing clinical-trial complexity among their top five challenges in 2024.[7]
Distribution channels in the pharmaceutical industry
- 11,428 lines were picked per day on average by specialty-pharmaceutical distribution facilities in 2023.[95]
- $217.8 billion was U.S. specialty-drug spending through mail-order pharmacies in 2025.[23]
- 32.8% of U.S. specialty-drug spending occurred through clinics in 2025.[23]
- 44.9% of U.S. specialty-drug spending occurred through mail-order pharmacies in 2025.[23]
- 4,600 medicine orders were received by a typical specialty-pharmaceutical distribution facility in 2023.[95]
16 Statistics
Regional markets
National market indicators vary widely, with Germany’s pharmaceutical-industry revenue at €67.9 billion in 2025. Workforce and export scale differ too, such as 174,000 people employed in Germany’s pharmaceutical industry at the end of 2023.
The pharmaceutical industry in India
- 925,811 people were engaged in India’s pharmaceuticals, medicinal and botanical-products industry in fiscal year 2022–23.[96]
- ₹4.72 lakh crore was the Indian pharmaceutical sector’s annual turnover in fiscal year 2024–25.[96]
- US$23.5 billion was India’s domestic pharmaceutical consumption in fiscal year 2023–24.[96]
- US$30.47 billion was the value of India’s pharmaceutical exports in fiscal year 2024–25, up 9.4% year over year.[96]
- 20% of the world’s generic medicines by volume are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical companies.[96]
The pharmaceutical industry in Germany
- €21.4 billion was the revenue of biopharmaceutical manufacturers in Germany in 2024, up 9.1% from 2023.[97]
- 174,000 people worked in Germany’s pharmaceutical industry at the end of 2023.[98]
- €37.5 billion was Germany’s pharmaceutical production volume in 2024.[97]
- €10.7 billion was invested in pharmaceutical research and development in Germany in 2024.[97]
- €67.9 billion was pharmaceutical-industry revenue in Germany in 2025, representing 5.9% growth.[97]
The pharmaceutical industry in Canada
- C$16.685 billion were Canada’s pharmaceutical exports in 2024, while imports reached C$29.464 billion.[99]
- C$22.1 billion were sales of patented medicines in Canada in 2024, increasing 10.9% from 2023.[100]
- 32 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies ranked among Canada’s top 100 corporate research-and-development spenders in 2024.[99]
- 35,708 people were employed in Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturing in 2025.[99]
- 47.6% of Canada’s pharmaceutical market was accounted for by its ten largest pharmaceutical corporations in December 2025.[99]
The pharmaceutical industry in South Korea
- ₩12.7 trillion were South Korea’s pharmaceutical exports in 2024, up 28.3% from 2023.[101]
- ₩32.9 trillion was South Korea’s pharmaceutical production value in 2024, a 7.3% increase from 2023.[101]
- ₩55.1333 trillion was pharmaceutical-industry revenue in South Korea in 2024, generated by 18,405 biohealth companies across the wider sector survey.[101]
- ₩31.7 trillion was the size of South Korea’s domestic pharmaceutical market in 2024, up from ₩31.4 trillion in 2023.[101]
- ₩11.5 trillion were South Korea’s pharmaceutical imports in 2024, increasing 7.5% year over year.[101]
The pharmaceutical industry in Denmark
- 189 billion Danish kroner of pharmaceutical exports were recorded in Denmark in 2025.[102]
- 19.4% of Denmark’s goods exports consisted of pharmaceuticals in 2025.[102]
- 51,673 people were employed in Denmark’s pharmaceutical industry in 2024.[102]
- 8.3% of Denmark’s GDP was represented by Novo Nordisk sales in 2023, reflecting the company’s dominant role in the pharmaceutical industry.[103]
- 52% of pharmaceutical-industry employees in Denmark were women in 2024.[102]
Key questions about the Pharmaceutical Industry
What is the current size of the worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market?
The worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market was worth an estimated €1.414 trillion, or $1.529 trillion, at ex-factory prices in 2024.
How fast is medicine spending expected to grow after 2024?
IQVIA projects global medicine spending of approximately $2.238 trillion by 2028, implying a 7.4% CAGR from 2023 to 2028.
Which companies lead the pharmaceutical industry?
Eli Lilly and Company leads Gitnux's 2026 pharmaceutical ranking with an Overall score of 9.8, with $36.5 billion in combined 2025 revenue from Mounjaro and Zepbound. Novartis is the highest-ranked pharmaceutical company at 9.3, with 304 million people worldwide reached by Novartis medicines.
What technology shift is most visible in pharma operations and R&D?
AI adoption is moving from pilots to workflows: 74% of pharma and biotech respondents actively used AI in 2025, and 75% planned to deploy agentic AI, with 7% at full production.
How concentrated is pharmaceutical commercial value?
Blockbuster medicines concentrate branded value: products representing only 2% to 4% of branded medicines accounted for 63% of global branded-medicine sales at list prices in 2024.
How is U.S. pricing regulation changing in 2026?
The U.S. Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program began applying negotiated maximum fair prices to 10 selected Part D drugs in 2026, with CMS issuing further rules on November 5, 2026.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Pharmaceutical Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pharmaceutical-industry-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Pharmaceutical Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/pharmaceutical-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Pharmaceutical Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pharmaceutical-industry-statistics.
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efpia.eu
- lif.se
- evaluate.com
cms.gov
whitehouse.gov
investor.lilly.com
novartis.com
roche.com
annualreport.novonordisk.com
astrazeneca.com
jnj.com
gsk.com
sanofi.com
bms.com
gilead.com
Social media in the pharmaceutical industry