The list of top pharmaceutical companies changes each year for several reasons, including mergers and acquisitions or the introduction of a new emerging blockbuster drug.
Below is a list of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization at the end of December 2018, according to Endpoint News.
The list doesn't include Johnson & Johnson, which has a market cap of $371 billion, because it is not a "pure play pharma giant" with its many business units, according to the report.
The top 25 pharma players, as of December 2018:
1. Pfizer — $253.2 billion
2. Roche — $212.5 billion
3. Merck & Co. — $198.7 billion
4. Novartis — $195.4 billion
5. AbbVie — $139.6 billion
6. Abbott Laboratories — $127 billion
7. Amgen — $124 billion
8. Eli Lilly — $122.6 billion
9. Novo Nordisk — $112.9 billion
10. Sanofi — $111.3 billion
11. AstraZeneca — $99.2 billion
12. GlaxoSmithKline — $98.2 billion
13. Bristol-Myers Squibb — $84.8 billion
14. Gilead Sciences — $80.9 billion
15. Bayer — $66.6 billion
16. CSL — $62.5 billion
17. Biogen — $60.6 billion
18. Merck KGaA — $46.2 billion
19. Allergan — $45.1 billion
20. Celgene — $44.8 billion
21. Vertex Pharmaceuticals — $42.3 billion
22. Shire — $42 billion
23. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — $40.4 billion
24. Chugai Pharmaceuticals — $31.5 billion
25. Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. — $29.4 billion