Each year, Forbes ranks the best companies to work for around the world and several pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms consistently make the list, reflecting the industry’s strong focus on innovation and competitive career opportunities.
Forbes’ 2026 America’s Best Large Employers List includes 15 large pharma and biotech companies that rank high in employee satisfaction, career development and workplace culture.
From global giants like Johnson & Johnson and Roche to biotech leaders like Regeneron and CSL, these companies offer dynamic environments where science meets opportunity, and employees can thrive while shaping the future of healthcare.
Forbes’ annual Best Large Employers rankings are based on anonymous surveys of hundreds of thousands of employees at companies with more than 1,000 workers, asking whether they would recommend their employer and how they rate key aspects like salary, work environment, career development and overall workplace experience. This year’s ranking included surveys from over 217,000 employees.
The workplace in 2026 is evolving amid economic, technological and political pressures. According to a forecast from Workplace Intelligence cited by Forbes, 62% of employees report heavier workloads, 72% feel pressured to use AI without training and return-to-office mandates remain a point of tension between staff and leadership.
Here’s a look at the major pharmaceutical companies on the list with an overview of their activity in the industry, including revenue, partnerships and investments.
1. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Headquarters: Tarrytown, New York, USA
Number of employees: 13,400
Year founded: 1988
Revenue (2025): $14.2 billion
Forbes overall rank: 21
Regeneron continued to demonstrate solid financial performance and strategic momentum going into 2026, reporting full-year 2025 revenues of about $14.3 billion, up modestly year-over-year, with fourth-quarter sales around $3.9 billion driven by blockbuster products like the anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent (dupilumab) and eye injection Eylea HD (aflibercept). The company is expanding its pipeline and global footprint, securing new label expansions for Dupixent across indications and investing heavily in R&D with a robust late-stage portfolio spanning immunology, oncology and rare diseases. Sanofi and Regeneron’s jointly developed Dupixent has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommending approval for treating chronic spontaneous urticaria in children aged two to 11 who haven’t responded to antihistamines, potentially making it the first targeted therapy in this age group in the EU if finalized. A related FDA decision in the US is expected by April 2026.
2. Novo Nordisk
Headquarters: Bagsværd, Denmark
Number of employees: 77,000
Year founded: 1923
Revenue (2025): $42.1 billion
Forbes overall rank: 42
In 2025, Novo Nordisk reported full-year sales of about DKK 309.1 billion (roughly $45 billion), a ~6% increase in Danish kroner and ~10% at constant exchange rates, driven mainly by obesity and diabetes semaglutide products Wegovy and Ozempic, though operating profit growth was modest and weighed down by transformation costs and pricing pressures. Last year, the Danish drugmaker announced an 11% workforce reduction to achieve $1.25 billion in cost savings by the end of 2026. Demand has been strong but has been disrupted by production constraints and competition from rivals such as Eli Lilly. Novo is continuing to bolster its obesity portfolio, recently inking a $2.1 billion collaboration with biotech Vivtex to develop next-generation oral obesity pills as part of a push from injectables to more convenient formulations. The company also struck a semaglutide distribution pact with Abbott in India ahead of patent expiry, and digital health collaborations in markets like the UAE. In 2025/early 2026, the FDA approved Novo’s once-daily oral Wegovy obesity pill. The company also faced some recent clinical setbacks, such as mixed trial results for newer GLP-1 combinations like CagriSema. On the manufacturing and infrastructure front, Novo announced a €432 million (~$500 million) expansion of the company’s Athlone, Ireland, facility to build capacity for oral GLP-1 production targeted at non-US markets, and larger investments in Brazil to boost injectable output, moves aimed at alleviating supply constraints and future demand. Novo also acquired Akero Therapeutics in December 2025 to bolster its presence in liver-related metabolic disorders.
3. Merck & Co.
Headquarters: Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA
Number of employees: 31,000
Year founded: 1891
Revenue (2025): $63.7 billion
Forbes overall rank: 57
Merck & Co. reported full-year worldwide revenue of about $65 billion in 2025, with Keytruda (pembrolizumab)/Keytruda Qlex (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph) sales amounting to roughly $31.7 billion and continuing to be the company’s dominant growth engine, alongside contributions from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Winrevair (sotatercept-csrk), pneumonia vaccine Capvaxive (neumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine) and animal health products. Overall sales grew modestly (~1% nominal, ~2% ex-FX) versus 2024. In 2025, Merck announced two rounds of layoffs as part of broader restructuring efforts. On July 31, 2025, the company confirmed plans to cut about 8% of its global workforce, roughly 6,000 employees, as part of a cost-saving initiative targeting $3 billion in annual savings by 2027. The cuts affected administrative, sales and R&D roles. Earlier in the year, Merck disclosed it was shuttering its Pennsylvania manufacturing facility, laying off 163 employees in phased reductions through mid-2026. In 2025, Merck also made a number of big-ticket acquisitions, including the approximately $10 billion purchase of respiratory specialist Verona Pharma, which brings Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), a COPD therapy with multi-billion-dollar peak sales potential, into its portfolio. The deal is part of a broader strategy to diversify ahead of looming patent expirations, notably Keytruda in 2028.
4. Amgen
Headquarters: Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Number of employees: 17,000
Year founded: 1980
Revenue (2025): $33.2 billion
Forbes overall rank: 83
In 2025, Amgen reported strong financial performance, with full-year revenues up ~1% to about $36.8 billion and Q4 sales of nearly $9.9 billion, driven by volume growth across a broad portfolio, with 18 products hitting record sales and 14 exceeding $1 billion each. On the manufacturing and investment front, Amgen committed to major US expansions, including a $650 million upgrade of its Puerto Rico biologics manufacturing network expected to create hundreds of jobs and bolster supply chain resilience, alongside ongoing multi-hundred-million-dollar facility builds and innovation centers in North Carolina, Ohio, and California. Emerging assets like the obesity candidate MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide) are attracting investor interest, and Amgen is defending core products against biosimilar competition. MariTide is an investigational, once-monthly antibody-peptide conjugate for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Phase II data showed up to 20% weight loss at 52 weeks, with a unique dual mechanism of GIP receptor antagonism and GLP-1 receptor agonism, aiming to improve weight loss durability. Amgen has been facing some regulatory issues over its anti-inflammation medication Tavneos (avacopan). In January, the FDA asked for the drug to be voluntarily withdrawn from the US market due to concerns about how some clinical trial data were handled and its benefit-risk profile, but Amgen declined the request. It says it stands by the medicine’s effectiveness for severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, and is working with the agency on a path forward while emphasizing ongoing safety monitoring and the drug’s clinical evidence.
5. Roche Holding
Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
Number of employees: 103,249
Year founded: 1896
Revenue (2025): $68.7 billion
Forbes overall rank: 124
In 2025, Roche achieved solid financial growth, reporting about CHF 61.5 billion (~$68 billion) in group sales, up ~7% at constant exchange rates, with pharmaceuticals up ~9% driven by products like Phesgo, Xolair, Ocrevus, Hemlibra and Vabysmo, and diagnostics up modestly despite pricing headwinds. Roche struck a major strategic collaboration with Denmark’s Zealand Pharma to license and co-develop the obesity drug candidate petrelintide in a deal worth up to $5.3 billion, aiming to bolster its presence in the competitive weight-loss market. A separate manufacturing partnership was confirmed with Spain’s Rovi for the production of a Roche metabolic/obesity therapy, expected to boost local advanced manufacturing. Roche’s manufacturing and investment initiatives have been expansive, with the company having pledged up to $50 billion in US investments over five years for new R&D and production facilities, including a new $700 million drug plant in North Carolina and a $550 million diagnostics manufacturing expansion in Indianapolis for continuous glucose monitoring technology. It’s also investing in China with a new production hub for its eye drug Vabysmo (faricimab-svoa). On September 18, 2025, Roche agreed to acquire 89bio for up to ~$3.5 billion, adding the late-stage MASH candidate pegozafermin to strengthen its cardiometabolic pipeline. To kick off 2026, Roche won FDA approval for subcutaneous Lunsumio Velo (mosunetuzumab) in follicular lymphoma.
6. Genentech
Headquarters: South San Francisco, California, USA
Number of employees: 13,500
Year founded: 1976
Revenue (2025): $14.2 billion
Forbes overall rank: 127
As a wholly-owned member of Roche Holding AG, Genentech contributed to the group’s robust 2025 performance. Roche reported ~CHF 61.5 billion ($78.6 billion) in total sales, driven by strong pharmaceuticals growth, though Roche does not break out standalone revenue for Genentech publicly. Genentech secured multiple FDA approvals recently, including FDA approval of its Tecentriq (atezolizumab) + lurbinectedin combination for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for lupus nephritis. On the manufacturing side, Genentech is dramatically expanding its US footprint: it broke ground on a new ~$700 million biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, designed to support next-generation metabolic medicines such as obesity therapies, and in early 2026, more than doubled that investment to about $2 billion. Genentech announced a third round of layoffs in 2025, cutting 118 employees across several departments, according to a WARN filing on October 27, 2025. Earlier in 2025, the company laid off 143 employees in May and 87 in July at its South San Francisco headquarters. Altogether, Genentech has eliminated well over 700 jobs since 2023, including prior reductions of more than 500 and 93 roles.
7. Johnson & Johnson
Headquarters: New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Number of employees: 138,000
Year founded: 1886
Revenue (2025): $89.3 billion
Forbes overall rank: 140
In 2025, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) reported about $94.2 billion in total revenue, reflecting ~6% annual growth driven by its Innovative Medicine and MedTech divisions and continued strength in oncology and immunology products. J&J is also expanding manufacturing capacity, investing over $55 billion in US research, technology and production infrastructure, including a new $2 billion biologics facility in North Carolina to support future medicines for cancer and immune diseases. On the dealmaking front, J&J acquired Halda Therapeutics in a $3.05 billion deal that includes Halda’s Riptac cell-death platform and its lead candidate HLD-0915, an oral small-molecule therapy targeting metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), along with additional RIPTAC-based programs for other solid tumors.
8. AbbVie
Headquarters: North Chicago, Illinois, USA
Number of employees: 55,000
Year founded: 2013
Revenue (2025): $57.4 billion
Forbes overall rank: 151
AbbVie remains one of the largest immunology-focused pharmaceutical companies, driven by blockbuster drugs such as Skyrizi, Rinvoq and Botox. In early 2025, the company reported quarterly revenue of about $13.3 billion, reflecting strong growth in its immunology and neuroscience franchises even as Humira sales declined due to biosimilar competition. AbbVie is actively diversifying beyond immunology, expanding its oncology pipeline through deals such as the 2023-2024 $10.1 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen and the development of antibody-drug conjugates targeting lung and other cancers. AbbVie also purchased Capstan Therapeutics last year in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion, which will give it access to Capstan’s in vivo targeted lipid nanoparticle (tLNP) platform and lead asset CPTX2309. AbbVie completed the acquisition on August 19, 2025. Last year, AbbVie ended its 11-year R&D partnership with Alphabet-backed Calico Life Sciences, resulting in about 100 layoffs at Calico as the collaboration winds down. The alliance focused on aging-related diseases and early drug discovery but produced few major clinical advances.
9. Eli Lilly
Headquarters: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Number of employees: 19,876
Year founded: 1876
Revenue (projected 2025): ~$60 billion
Forbes overall rank: 200
Eli Lilly continues to be fueled by its blockbuster tirzepatide-based diabetes and obesity drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, respectively. The company projected 2025 revenue of roughly $58 billion to $61 billion, a sharp increase from about $45 billion in 2024. To meet surging demand for its cardiometabolic medicines, Lilly is undertaking one of the largest manufacturing expansions in the pharmaceutical industry, committing over $50 billion in US production investments since 2020 and building multiple new facilities focused on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production and small-molecule synthesis. Major projects include multibillion-dollar manufacturing plants in Texas and Alabama, designed to produce next-generation obesity drugs such as the oral GLP-1 candidate orforglipron, as well as expanded contract manufacturing capacity in India. Last year, Lilly struck a deal to acquire gene therapy company Verve Therapeutics for approximately $1 billion, with the potential value rising to $1.3 billion if milestones are achieved. The deal gives Lilly Verve’s in vivo gene-editing programs for cardiovascular disease, including its PCSK9-targeting candidate VERVE-102.
10. GSK
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Number of employees: 65,000
Year founded: 2000
Revenue (2025): $40.1 billion
Forbes overall rank: 57
GSK company reported ~£31.4 billion ($41.9 billion) in annual 2025 sales driven by strong growth in its specialty medicines and vaccines portfolios, including HIV therapies such as Dovato (dolutegravir/lamivudine) and Cabenuva (cabotegravir/rilpivirine), the blockbuster RSV vaccine Arexvy (respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, adjuvanted) and expanding oncology products like Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly). The company has been actively strengthening its oncology pipeline through acquisitions, including the up to $1.15 billion purchase of US biotech IDRx, which brings the late-stage gastrointestinal cancer candidate IDRX-42, a KIT-selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor for gastrointestinal stromal tumors. GSK has also continued investing in global manufacturing and R&D infrastructure, expanding vaccine production capacity and biologics development capabilities across the UK, US and Europe to support next-generation vaccines and specialty medicines.
11. Pfizer
Headquarters: New York, New York, USA
Number of employees: 81,000
Year founded: 1849
Revenue (2025): $63.6 billion
Forbes overall rank: 305
Pfizer generated around $62 billion in revenue in 2025, reflecting a transition period as COVID-19 product sales decline and the company pivots toward new growth areas. The company has been active in strategic deals, including a multi-billion-dollar licensing agreement with China’s 3SBio for a cancer therapy and a partnership with YaoPharma to develop oral GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. After a dramatic bidding war with Novo Nordisk, Pfizer agreed to acquire obesity biotech Metsera for about $10 billion, securing access to its early-stage GLP-1 and amylin-based drug candidates. The deal followed lawsuits from Pfizer alleging Novo’s competing bid was anticompetitive and violated Metsera’s merger agreement, with Metsera ultimately accepting Pfizer’s higher offer. On the workforce front, last year Pfizer reduced its Switzerland workforce from around 300 to 70 employees as part of global cost-saving goals. In April, Pfizer increased its overall savings target to $7.7 billion through 2027.
12. AstraZeneca
Headquarters: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Number of employees: 89,000
Year founded: 1999
Revenue (2025): $54.1 billion
Forbes overall rank: 353
In 2025, AstraZeneca reported about $58.7 billion in total revenue, reflecting roughly 8% to 9% growth driven by strong demand for oncology, cardiovascular and rare disease medicines. These include oncology drugs such as Tagrisso (osimertinib), Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and Imfinzi (durvalumab). The company has been active in strategic dealmaking, including the acquisition of cell therapy biotech EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion and partnerships such as a $555 million collaboration with Algen Biotechnologies to develop gene and CAR T therapies. AstraZeneca is also investing heavily in infrastructure, announcing up to $50 billion in US manufacturing and R&D investments through 2030, including a major drug-substance production facility in Virginia focused on next-generation metabolic medicines. The company continues to expand globally with additional research and manufacturing investments in China and other markets while advancing a broad pipeline across oncology, immunology and metabolic disease.
13. Takeda
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Number of employees: 49,095
Year founded: 1781
Revenue (2025): $30.2 billion
Forbes overall rank: 396
Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical expects around ¥4.5 trillion (~$30 billion) in revenue for FY2025, with its fiscal year running from April 1 to March 31, though performance has been affected by generic competition eroding sales of its ADHD drug Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine). The company continues to strengthen its pipeline through partnerships, including an oncology collaboration with Innovent Biologics and ongoing regulatory filings for late-stage drugs such as oveporexton for narcolepsy. Takeda has also been reshaping its R&D focus, exiting cell therapy research and seeking partners for those programs, which resulted in layoffs affecting about 137 employees in Massachusetts. The company says it will focus resources on higher-priority programs and established modalities, and currently does not have any active clinical trials with cell therapies.
14. CSL
Headquarters: Melbourne, Australia
Number of employees: 32,000
Year founded: 1916
Revenue (2025): $15.1 billion
Forbes overall rank: 506
Australia-based CSL Ltd. reported about $3 billion in net profit for FY2025, driven largely by demand for plasma-derived therapies through its CSL Behring division. The company is expanding manufacturing capacity, including a planned $1.5 billion investment in US facilities to increase production of plasma-derived medicines and strengthen supply chains for immunoglobulin therapies. At the same time, CSL announced a major corporate restructuring that includes spinning off its influenza vaccine unit, CSL Seqirus and cutting roughly 15% of its global workforce, about 3,000 jobs, while closing 22 plasma collection centers in the US. The restructuring aims to streamline operations and refocus resources on plasma therapies and specialty biologics. CSL’s subsidiary Seqirus opened a state‑of‑the‑art $1 billion cell‑based influenza vaccine and antivenom manufacturing facility in Melbourne at the end of 2025, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and one of just three worldwide, significantly boosting Australia’s sovereign production of seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines, antivenoms and Q fever vaccines.
15. Bristol Myers Squibb
Headquarters: New York, New York, USA
Number of employees: 19,437
Year founded: 1887
Revenue (2025): $48.2 billion
Forbes overall rank: 523
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) earned roughly $48.2 billion in 2025, with growth driven by products such as PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab), CTLA-4 inhibitor Yervoy (ipilimumab), anemia drug Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt) and Camzyos (mavacamten) for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM), though overall sales have been pressured by patent expirations and pricing reforms. The company has been reshaping its pipeline through acquisitions and partnerships in next-generation oncology therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapies, while continuing to expand its manufacturing network to support biologics and advanced therapies. As part of a broader restructuring and cost-cutting strategy targeting $2 billion in annual savings by 2027, BMS announced layoffs affecting over 500 employees in New Jersey, with more than 800 roles impacted across multiple rounds in 2025.
On the purchasing side, BMS has been engaging in high-impact dealmaking to reset its oncology and immunotherapy pipelines, including a partnership worth up to $11 billion with BioNTech to co-develop next-generation cancer therapies.
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