Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Surging Markets Drive Double- and Triple-Digit Percentage Gains for Compensation
The old saying “a rising tide lifts all boats,” famously borrowed in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, certainly applied last year to the total compensation of biopharma CEOs, as surging financial markets generated stratospheric stock awards that elevated what executives at the top received during 2017.
That proved especially true for the executive who ranks number-one on this year’s version of a list GEN has published on and off over the past six years. His total 2017 compensation consisted heavily of stock awards—$44.484 million worth, to be exact, accounting for more than three-fourths (78%) of his pay of nearly $56.9 million.
That level of compensation is more than double what the top CEO received the first time GEN published this list in 2012. Johnson & Johnson’s then-chairman/CEO William C. Weldon topped that year’s list with total 2011 compensation of $26,797,939.
Weldon’s level of compensation would only be high enough to rank number-six on this year’s version of the list, which is ranked on 2017 compensation—and includes Weldon’s successor, one of five CEOs whose compensation rose by double digits year-over-year. Of the other five, two saw triple-digit leaps in total compensation, two others saw year-over-year declines, and a comparison could not be made for the fifth because he was not a named executive officer of his company in 2016.
Also notable: Nine of this year’s top 10 compensated biopharma CEOs are men. The second highest-compensated biopharma CEO who is a woman was ranked No. 22: Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, who finished last year with $12,744,397, down 7.5% from $13,777,120 in 2016.
Following is a ranking of biopharma CEOs by their total 2017 compensation as disclosed in company proxy statements. Each CEO is listed by name, title, company, 2017 and 2016 total compensation, and percent change between the two years. All non-U.S. currencies have been converted to U.S. dollars.
The list includes CEOs of drug developers and tool/tech companies, both traditional areas of coverage for GEN. But biopharma’s growing focus on healthcare data explains why one CEO who was not listed arguably could be considered the second highest-compensated chief executive.
Ari Bousbib, the chairman, CEO, and president of IQVIA—the healthcare data giant formed in 2016 by the merger of IMS Health and Quintiles—finished last year with total compensation of $38,029,517, a six-fold increase from the $6,639,912 he received in 2016. More than two-thirds (69%) of his total 2017 compensation of $26,391,942 came in stock awards.
#10. Kenneth Frazier
Company: Merck & Co.
Title: Chairman, President, and CEO
2017 total compensation: $17,643,087
2016 total compensation: $21,781,170
% Change: −19%
#9. Giovanni Caforio, M.D.
Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Title: Chairman and CEO
2017 total compensation: $18,687,123
2016 total compensation: 16,933,858
% Change: 10.4%
#8. Marc N. Casper
Company: Thermo Fisher Scientific
Title: President and CEO
2017 total compensation: $22,275,176
2016 total compensation: $17,800,661
% Change: 25.1%
#7. Richard A. Gonzalez
Company: AbbVie
Title: Chairman and CEO
2017 total compensation: $22,625,243
2016 total compensation: $20,970,924
% Change: 7.9%
#6. Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D.
Company: Regeneron
Title: President and CEO
2017 compensation: $26,508,058
2016 compensation: $28,337,520
% Change: −6.5%
#5. Ian C. Read
Company: Pfizer
Title: Chairman and CEO
2017 total compensation: $27,913,775
2016 total compensation: $17,321,470
% Change: 61.2%
#4. Alex Gorsky
Company: Johnson & Johnson
Title: Chairman and CEO
2017 total compensation: $29,802,564
2016 total compensation: $26,871,720
% Change: 10.9%
#3. Brenton L. (Brent) Saunders
Company: Allergan
Title: Chairman, President, and CEO
2017 total compensation: $32,827,626
2016 total compensation: $4,139,028
% Change: 693.1%
#2. Martine Rothblatt
Company: United Therapeutics
Title: Chairman and CEO
2017 total compensation: $37,133,201
2016 total compensation: $15,424,329
% Change: 140.7%
#1. Douglas Ingram
Company: Sarepta Therapeutics
Title: President and CEO
2017 total compensation: $56,866,241
2016 total compensation: N/A
% Change: N/A
