The stock market may have been a rollercoaster in recent weeks, yet over the past year biotech shares have mostly outperformed Wall Street as a whole. That accounts for one interesting finding in this year’s GEN List of Top 25 Biotech Companies—a 23.7% jump, to $1.225 trillion, in the combined market capitalization of the companies whose stocks made the list compared with the $990.89 billion racked up by the Top 25 Biotech Companies of 2014. The gain reflects investor expectations of biotech growth—expectations also reflected by a continuing parade of initial public offerings; a total 64 IPOs were launched or pending this year as of June 30, followed by another 10 biotech IPOs reaching the market from July 1 through September 8, as well as another 12 biotech IPO filings (of which one was later withdrawn).
Following is a list of 25 biotech companies, ranked by their market cap as of September 8 as furnished by the exchanges on which they trade their shares, or by other publicly available sources, such as any of several free stock information websites. Figures of non-U.S. companies were converted to U.S. dollars from various currencies.
The minimum market cap of GEN Top-25 biotech companies this time around is just under $10 billion, compared with just under $8 billion a year ago, and $2.3 billion for the lowest of the Top 25 Biotech Companies of 2013. This year’s List also shows market-cap gains for biotechs that grew their way to the top 25 through mergers and acquisitions such as Endo International, Valeant Pharmaceutical International, and Allergan (formerly Actavis), which tripled in market cap
And while biotech giants mostly stand at the top of this year’s List, a couple (Biogen and Shire) actually recorded declines in market value compared with GEN’s 2014 List, while one other (CSL) showed a decline in U.S. dollars due to currency fluctuations, despite a gain when measured in Australian dollars. Two other companies that made last year’s List, Salix Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacyclics, have since been acquired (the former by Valeant, the latter by AbbVie).
#25. Sinopharm Group1
$9.76 billion
Hong Kong Exchange (1099.HK)
#24. Jazz Pharmaceuticals
$9.95 billion
NASDAQ (JAZZ)
#23. Dr. Reddy Laboratories
$10.45 billion
NYSE (RDY)
#22. Merck KGaA
$12.19 billion (€10.88 billion)
Frankfurt Stock Exchange (MRK)
#21. Endo International
$15.20 billion
NASDAQ (ENDP)
#20. UCB
$15.54 billion (€13.89 billion)
Euronext Brussels (UCB)
#19. Actelion2
$15.67 billion (CHF 15.24 billion)
SIX Swiss Exchange (ATLN)
#18. BioMarin Pharmaceutical
$20.38 billion
NASDAQ (BMRN)
#17. Incyte
$20.91 billion
NASDAQ (INCY)
#16. Mylan
$23.62 billion
NASDAQ (MYL)
#15. Perrigo
$26.15 billion
NYSE (PRGO)
#14. CSL
$29.65 billion (A$42.19 billion)
ASX (CSL)
#13. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
$30.60 billion (INR 2,032.48 billion)
National Stock Exchange of India (SUNPHARMA)
#12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
$31.07 billion
NASDAQ (VRTX)
#11. Alexion Pharmaceuticals
$39.89 billion
NASDAQ (ALXN)
#10. Shire3
$45.90 billion (£29.009 billion)
London Stock Exchange (SHP)
#9. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
$51.84 billion
NASDAQ (REGN)
#8. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
$53.25 billion
NYSE (TEVA)
#7. Biogen
$71.08 billion
NASDAQ (BIIB)
#6. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
$78.68 billion
NYSE (VRX)
#5. Celgene
$92.80 billion
NASDAQ (CELG)
#4. Amgen
$111.48 billion
NASDAQ (AMGN)
#3. Allergan
$115.63 billion
NYSE (ACT)
#2. Novo Nordisk
$143.92 billion
NYSE (NVO)
#1. Gilead Sciences
$149.78 billion
NASDAQ (GILD)
Notes:
1 Sinopharm also trades in the U.S. on Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board as SHTDF
2 Actelion also trades on Frankfurt Stock Exchange as ACT, and in the U.S. on Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board as ALIOF
3 Also trades on NASDAQ as SHPG
