Top 10: Bio-Pharmaceutical Companies
The global biopharmaceutical industry is investing heavily in the next generation of medicines, with thousands of drug candidates progressing through discovery and clinical development.
Using data from Citeline’s 2026 Pharma R&D Annual Review, this ranking examines the biopharmaceutical firms with the highest number of drug candidates in development.
The analysis highlights the scale of leading companies’ research operations, while also bringing emerging pharmaceutical players into the picture.
From established Big Pharma leaders to emerging Chinese innovators, the ranking provides a snapshot of where the industry’s largest drug-development engines sit and the breadth of their future medicine portfolios.
10. Bristol Myers Squibb
R&D Pipeline Size: 158
Employees: 32,500
Chief Digital & Technology Officer: Greg Meyers
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is a New Jersey-headquartered pharmaceutical firm long associated with immuno-oncology and oncology candidates.
Its pipeline includes established franchises such as Opdivo, Yervoy, Eliquis and Revlimid.
Cobenfy, a novel Schizophrenia drug is being tested as a treatment for Alzheimer’s psychosis in Phase 3 trials, while continued oncology coverage remains key to its pipeline following acquisitions of Celgene and Mirati.
An immunology push via cell therapy deals has also been a core strand of its pipeline strategy.
Chicago-based Abbvie, formerly part of Abbott Laboratories until the pair separated in 2013, has a pipeline led commercially by immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
Its pipeline spans immunology, oncology and neuroscience, bolstered by acquisitions of Cerevel in neuroscience and ImmunoGen in oncology, plus aesthetics in the form of Botox and eye care franchises.
AbbVie’s R&D strategy is centred on replacing and expanding established medicines while developing new therapies with blockbuster potential.
8. Merck & Co.
R&D Pipeline Size: 170
Employees: 75,000
Chief Information & Digital Officer: Dave Williams
US pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co (known as MSD outside North America), is a globally dominant player in oncology through Keytruda, which drove nearly half of the company's US$65bn in sales last year.
Facing Keytruda's 2028 patent cliff, Merck & Co split its business into dedicated oncology and specialty/vaccine units while building out what CEO Robert Davis calls the "broadest and widest pipeline" it has had in years, including mRNA cancer vaccines with Moderna and cardiometabolic drugs.
7. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals
R&D Pipeline Size: 177
Employees: 20,600
CIO: Conrad Wang
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals is China's largest pharmaceutical company by market value.
Its strategy focuses on oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic diseases and immunology, with more than 400 ongoing clinical trials, including more than 20 international studies.
The company operates 15 R&D centres across Asia, Europe, the US and Australia, supported by a global R&D workforce of more than 5,600 professionals.
Increasingly, it out-licenses assets to Western partners including GSK and Bristol Myers Squibb as it expands its global footprint.
6. Novartis
R&D Pipeline Size: 188
Employees: 75,000
CIO: Bernd Bucher
Novartis is a research-driven innovative medicines pharmaceutical company based in Basel. In 2025, its medicines reached 304 million patients.
Its pipeline focuses on four core therapeutic areas – cardiovascular-renal-metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology – and is supported by technology platforms including radioligand therapy, gene and cell therapy and xRNA.
Recent pipeline momentum includes programmes in cancer, immunological diseases and cardiovascular conditions, alongside continued expansion of medicines such as Pluvicto, Scemblix and Fabhalta.
5. Sanofi
R&D Pipeline Size: 195
Employees: 80,000
Chief Digital Officer: Emmanuel Frenehard
Sanofi is a French multinational firm headquartered in Paris, with a strong presence in the vaccine and rare disease fields.
Increasingly, it is repositioning its pipeline around "immunoscience" as a core strand of its R&D strategy.
Its pipeline includes 61 clinical-stage projects, 24 of which are in Phase 3 or under regulatory review, spanning immunology, neurology, oncology, rare diseases and vaccines, anchored by blockbuster Dupixent and a wave of follow-on immunology assets.
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is currently the world's most valuable drugmaker on the back of diabetes and obesity GLP-1 blockbusters such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as recent growth in its Foundayo oral GLP-1 pill.
Its pipeline spans metabolic disease, neuroscience, oncology and immunology, and 2026 has seen the company pursue an acquisition spree, including Orna Therapeutics, Centessa and AtaiBeckley, pushing further into cell therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, and Alzheimer's as it looks to diversify beyond its dominant obesity franchise.
3. Pfizer
R&D Pipeline Size: 202
Employees: 75,000
CIO: Dennis Hancock
Headquartered in New York, Pfizer’s pipeline was historically defined by vaccines, cardiology and infectious disease.
Now dedicating over 40% of R&D spend to oncology following the 2023 acquisition of Seagen, Pfizer has built one of the industry's broadest cancer pipelines across small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates and bispecifics.
The company is pairing this oncology push with a heavy late-stage execution calendar and a diverse next-generation pipeline spanning obesity and multiple tumor types.
2. Roche
R&D Pipeline Size: 214
Employees: 103,000
Chief Digital & Technology Officer: Wafaa Mamilli
Roche is a healthcare giant based in Basel, Switzerland, historically built on oncology and diagnostics.
Recently, it has repositioned its pipeline across hematology, immunology, neurology, ophthalmology and a new push into obesity.
Roche invested CHF12.2bn (US$14.97bn) in R&D during 2025, while its pharmaceutical division generated CHF47.7bn (US$58.53bn) in sales.
Its pipeline includes innovative medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, with particular strengths in oncology and neuroscience and an increasing focus on potentially first-in-class or best-in-class treatments.
Roche advanced 10 potentially life-changing new medicines into final development during 2025 and recorded 12 positive late-stage readouts.
Its latest pipeline comprises 66 new molecular entities, with 10 new molecules entering Phase III during 2025.
1. AstraZeneca
R&D Pipeline Size: 214
Employees: 97,000
CIO: Chris Taylor
AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish pharma headquartered in Cambridge, UK, structured around oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory and immunology, rare diseases and infectious diseases.
The company reported US$58.7bn in 2025 revenue and is targeting at least 20 new medicines and US$80bn in annual revenue by 2030.
Its oncology pipeline is among the industry's deepest, with over 85 abstracts and 13 potential new medicines showcased at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology, spanning breast, liver and bladder cancers through drugs like Enhertu, Datroway and Imfinzi, plus emerging modalities such as T-cell receptor therapies and antibody-drug conjugates.
With medicines sold in over 125 countries, AstraZeneca combines breadth across cancer, chronic disease and rare conditions with a strong late-stage execution track record heading into 2026 and 2027.
Company portals
Executives
Bernd Bucher
Chief Information Officer
Chris Taylor
Chief Information Officer
Conrad Wang
Chief Information Officer
Dave Williams
Chief Information & Digital Officer
Dennis Hancock
Chief Information Officer
Diogo Rau
Chief Information & Digital Officer
Emmanuel Frenehard
Chief Digital Officer
Greg Meyers
Member Board of Directors
Linda Ray
Chief Information Officer
Wafaa Mamilli
EVP, Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer
