1. Teva (Israel)
2011 revenue: $10.2bn (+3% over 2010)
Israel-based pharmaceutical company Teva continued to lead the global generic market in 2011. Its operating profit was $3.1bn during the year ended 2011, a decrease of 19.7% from 2010, while net profit was $2.8bn, a fall of 17.2%. The company’s generic products revenue in the US market decreased by 32% from $5.8bn in 2010 to $4.0bn in 2011. Declining sales of new products launched in 2010 and supply constraints due to regulatory issues were the key reasons for the sales decline. Teva launched 17 generic versions of various branded products in the US in 2011.
In the year ended 31 December 2011, the company received 1,241 generic approvals in Europe. Teva generated revenue of $3.8bn from generic products in 2011 in this market, an increase of 44% over 2010. The increase in revenue was primarily due to the inclusion of ratiopharm sales and the acquisition of Cephalon’s generics business. The revenue from ROW markets was $2.4bn in 2011, an increase of 64% over 2010.
2. Sandoz (Germany)
2011 revenue: $9.5bn (+10% over 2010)
Sandoz International, based in Holzkirchen, Germany, is one of the world’s leading generics companies. It acts as a pharmaceutical division of Novartis and its operating profit was $1.9bn during the year ended 2011, an increase of 12% over 2010. Net profit, meanwhile, was $1.4bn, a rise of 8%.
Sandoz International’s product portfolio includes more than 1,000 high-quality molecules ranging from standard generics to complex value-added products. Geographically, the company serves people in more than 130 countries, with ten major development centres and a wide network of more than 30 manufacturing sites throughout the world.
The company’s anticoagulant enoxaparin has registered as a first generic ‘blockbuster’ product, generating more than $1bn in sales in 2011. Sandoz International has started phase III biosimilar trials for two Amgen products: Neupogen (filgrastim) aimed at the US market and Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) globally.
3. Mylan (US)
2011 revenue: $5.6bn (+12% over 2010)
Mylan is the world’s third-largest generic drug manufacturer. It operates in two reportable segments: generics and speciality. The company markets more than 1,100 products to consumers in over 150 countries and territories across the world. Its operating profit was $1bn during the year ended 2011, an increase of 39% over 2010, while net profit was up 56% to $537m.
Mylan has the largest generic product pipeline worldwide and received approvals for 819 products in 2011. The company completed more than 740 global country-level product submissions in 2011. The largest number of products submitted for approvals, 389, were in EMEA, followed by 263 in Asia-Pacific and 94 in North America.
On 22 August 2012, US giant Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, announced the signing of an agreement with Mylan aimed at establishing an exclusive, long-term strategic collaboration for the development and commercialisation of generic drugs in Japan.
4. Watson (US)
2011 revenue: $3.4bn (+48% over 2010)
Watson Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in California and is a speciality pharmaceutical company. It carries out the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of specialised branded and generic pharmaceutical products.
The company showed an operating profit of $536m during the year ended 2011, a rise of 76% over 2010; net profit was $261m for the same period, up 41%. It spent approximately $295m on R&D.
Last year, Watson Pharmaceuticals received approvals for 252 generic products and launched 189 generic products globally. In the US market, the launch of generic versions of Concerta, Lipitor and Kadian contributed to an increase in product sales, which were also helped by the continued strong performance of the company’s modified-release and oral contraceptive portfolios.
In Canada, Watson Pharmaceuticals showed strong prescription growth, thanks to the launch of ten products during the year ended December 2011.
5. Hospira (US)
2011 revenue: $2.4bn (+14% over 2010)
Hospira offers one of the broadest portfolios of generic acute care and oncology injectables, integrated infusion therapy and medication management solutions. Its operations are spread across the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, but it is headquartered in Illinois, US.
The company has been pursuing a strategy of challenging the intellectual property of proprietary pharmaceutical firms in order to be the first generic company to the market. As part of its effective research and development activities, in March 2011 the company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its product docetaxel.
Hospira’s operating profit was $57.0m during the year ended 2011, a decrease of 89% compared with 2010, while its net loss amounted to $9.4m compared with a net profit of $357.0m during 2010.
The company’s generic pharmaceutical pipeline has consisted of 73 compounds this year. The product pipeline was dominated by compounds related to oncology and anti-infectives, followed by cardiovascular, anesthesia and other areas.
6. Sanofi (France)
2011 revenue: $2.3bn (+15% over 2010 – generics division)
Sanofi is a global pharmaceutical company that researches, develops, manufactures and markets healthcare products. It is present in more than 100 countries on five continents and employs over 113,700 people. Sanofi operates in three broad categories: pharmaceuticals, vaccines and animal health.
US generic business growth was driven by recent launches of Taxotere (docetaxel), Ambien CR (zolpidem tartrate extended-release) and Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium injection). Sanofi has recorded sales of approximately $1.3bn in emerging markets, mainly due to the introduction of Medley products in Latin America. To access the fast-growing Japanese generics market in 2011, the company established Sanofi Nichi-Iko KK. Through this joint-venture, Sanofi began promoting two molecules in 2011, edaravone and donepezil.
7. Actavis (Switzerland)
2011 revenue: $2.3bn (estimated)
Actavis, a pharmaceutical and healthcare company, develops, manufactures and sells generic pharmaceuticals. It provides a variety of medicines in different formulations, including tablets, capsules, injectables, suppositories, sprays, steriles, powders, oral liquids and semi-solids. Actavis has operations in more than 40 countries, with around 11,000 employees. Globally, it has 14 manufacturing sites in 12 different countries.
In December 2011, the company acquired the Netherlands-based firm PharmaPack International for an undisclosed amount. In other developments, it entered into a binding letter of intent (LOI) with QRxPharma to commercialise MoxDuo IR in the US market, and launched Valsartan/Valsartan HCT and Olanzapine in several European countries this year. Actavis also opened its new management offices in Zug, Switzerland, in May 2011.
8. Daiichi (Japan)
2011 revenue: $2.2bn (+10% over 2010 – generics division)
Daiichi Sankyo Company researches, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products. The company’s business operations are classified into two segments; Daiichi Sankyo Group and Ranbaxy Group.
Daiichi Sankyo sells its pharmaceutical products in 33 locations and its operations are spread across North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, although it is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Its operating profit was $1.2bn during the year ended 2011, a decrease of 20% on 2010. Net profit was $126.0m during the period, a fall of 85% on the previous 12 months. To leverage its expertise and brand power, the company has entered the Japanese generic drug market through a new subsidiary Daiichi Sankyo Espha.
9. Aspen (South Africa)
2011 revenue: $1.8bn (+13% over 2010)
Aspen Pharmacare Holdings is a manufacturer and supplier of branded and generic pharmaceuticals in nearly 100 countries across the globe. The company maintains four manufacturing facilities in South Africa, four in Australia, and one each in Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil, Mexico and Germany. The company also has a presence in Venezuela, Ireland, Uganda, Mauritius, Dubai and Hong Kong. It is headquartered in Durban, South Africa.
Aspen focused on the realisation of synergy and growth opportunities from the acquisition of Sigma’s pharmaceutical business in Australia, and will further use it as a platform to stimulate expansion plans into the broader Asia-Pacific region.
The company’s operating profit was $372m during the year ended 2011; an increase of 25% over 2010. Net profit was $309m, a rise of 30%.
10. Stada (Germany)
2011 revenue: $1.5bn (+6% over 2010)
Stada operates its business through two segments: generics (which comprises low-priced and active ingredient products) and branded products. The five top-selling drugs from the company’s generics segment – omeprazole, simvastatin, enalapril, diclofenac and phospholipide – generated revenue of $171m in 2011.
Stada is present in more than 30 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, and is headquartered in Bad Vilbel, Hesse, Germany. Its operating profit was $152m during the year ended 2011, a decrease of 25% from 2010, while the firm’s net profit amounted to $28m, a drop of 68% compared with 2010.
In 2011, the number of employees in the Stada Group was 7,826, compared with 8,080 in 2010, while the company spent close to $63m on R&D, a decrease of 8% over 2010.
