The Pharmaceutical Executive magazine publishes its annual ranking of the Top 50 Pharma Companies Worldwide based on sales in the previous year. This year’s list was released back in June.

The Top 50 Global Pharma Companies are listed in the tables below:

Click to enlarge

Source: Pharmaceutical Executive

Here are a few observations:

• Swiss drug giant Novartis(NVS) replaced last year’s topper Pfizer (PFE).  Novartis beats Pfizer in R&D expenditure as well.
• The top 10 firms are either from the U.S. or developed Europe.
• It is not surprising to see Israeli generic drug maker Teva(TEVA) on the 12th place since generics are becoming more popular among cost-conscious consumers.
• Denmark-based Novo Nordisk(NVO) is the world leading drug and equipment maker for diabetes. Hence the company has strong growth potential in emerging countries such as China where diabetes is becoming more prevalent as people’s food habits change.

For the 2013 ranking of the Top 50 Pharma firms click here.

Also checkout:

• The Top 20 Global Pharmaceutical Companies by Sales (in 2010)
• The World’s 50 Largest Pharmaceutical Companies by Sales ( in 2011)
• The Top 10 Global Biopharmaceutical Companies by Sales ( in 2010)
• Chart: Top 50 Global Drug Companies by Sales in 2011 ( in 2011)
• U.S. Healthcare Reform is a Big Boon For Healthcare Companies
• Lists: Top 20 Pharmaceutical Companies in China’s 18 Drug Markets
• Top Drug Companies’ Market Share in Home Region
• Five Stocks To Invest In The Chinese Healthcare Market

Disclosure: No Positions