By HN
As we have seen with the massive profiteering and lies surrounding the COVID-19 depopulation bio attack on humanity and the weaponized shots, from Fauci and the CDC’s flip flopping and the anti-science narrative called, “the science”, to corrupt and tyrannical governors following the fascist 2010 Rockefeller Foundation Operation Lockstep script to the letter, it should be clear that the COVID-19 scamdemic is not the evil medical mafia’s first horse and pony show. Not by a long shot.
Big Pharma lies all the time. And when they are caught and cannot pay off corrupt regulators and politicians, Big Pharma pays out big fines. But these fines amount to the price of doing business. They are merely a fraction of the annual revenue these behemoth companies generate. It’s a slap on the wrist.
Pfizer’s record-breaking year set the stage for a sound financial year for Big Pharma’s top ten, whose revenue grew on average 19.8 percent in 2021. Posting sales of over USD 80 billion, Pfizer pulled away from second placed Roche and is aiming to break the USD 100 billion barrier in 2022. Abbvie, MSD and Johnson & Johnson also posted double digit growth, while GSK’s remained flat.
Take a look at the top 10 pharmaceutical companies by 2021 revenue and the main developments that led them there.
1. Pfizer
Revenue: USD 81.3 billion
HQ: New York, United States
CEO & Chairman: Albert Bourla
Notable development: Covid-19 vaccines and treatments
(Link to latest financial results)
The American giant had a record year driven by its successful Covid-19 vaccine (Cominarty) and treatment (Paxlovid), which together accounted for nearly half of its operational revenue. Not satisfied, the company is aiming to become the first one to break the USD 100 billion barrier in yearly revenue in 2022.
“We put billions of dollars of capital on the line in pursuit of those goals, not knowing whether those investments would ever pay off. Now, less than two years since we made that commitment, we are proud to say that we have delivered,” said CEO Albert Bourla.
Although Pfizer announced it initiated 13 “pivotal” clinical studies during 2021, R&D investment did not keep up with its skyrocketing revenue, barely increasing from the previous year from USD 8.9 to USD 10.5 billion. Nevertheless, the company expects to remain a growth company between 2025-2030, among other things, because of “durable Covid-19 revenues.”
2. Roche
Revenue: CHF 62.8 billion (approx. USD 68.1 USD)
HQ: Basel, Switzerland
CEO: Dr Severin Schwan
Notable development: repurchased one third of its shares from Novartis
(Link to latest financial results)
Following Pfizer’s path, Roche took a boost from Covid-19 solutions but mostly in diagnostics. “Despite all the success,” warned CEO Severin Schwan, there is still a great need for better therapies in areas such as cancer, dementia and infections, “far beyond Covid-19.”
Two moments marked the Swiss giant’s year more than anything else, one strategic–even symbolic– and a breakthrough product approval.
Calling it a “disentanglement of two competitors,” Roche agreed to repurchase one third of its shares from Novartis, which held them for the last 20 years. Portfolio-wise, Tecentriq (atezolizumab) became the first cancer immunotherapy for people with early-stage lung cancer to be approved.
3. Abbvie
Revenue: USD 56.1 billion
HQ: Lake Bluff, Illinois, United States
CEO & Chairman: Richard A. Gonzalez
Notable development: Humira remained a blockbuster in the US, but fell abroad due to biosimilar competition
(Link to latest financial results)
Abbvie’s immunology portfolio led the way with USD 25.2 billion globally, an increase of 14 percent. Humira (adalimumab) exemplifies the disconnect between how the company operates in the US and international markets; the product brought in USD 17 billion from US sales, increasing slightly from the previous year, but saw a significant drop in the resto of the world with USD 3.3 billion “due to biosimilar competition.”
The mid-term future of Abbvie’s portfolio will rely on two newly approved products, Skyrizi (risankizumab for atopic dermatitis, developed in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib for psoriatic arthritis). The Illinois-based company expects each asset to deliver sales above USD 7.5 billion in 2025.
4. Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
Revenue: USD 52.1 billion (pharma sales only)
HQ: New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
CEO: Joaquin Duato
Notable development: Will split into two companies, spinning off its consumer health division
(Link to latest financial results)
One of only two US-based companies with a AAA credit rating, higher than that of the US government in Standard & Poor’s list, Johnson & Johnson ended 2021 with a major announcement: it will split into two companies, separating consumer products and pharmaceutical businesses.
J&J’s pharma business faced a similar situation to Abbvie; immunology led the way with USD 16.7 billion, closely followed by oncology, and is losing ground for a star product, Remicade, due to biosimilars competition. Consumer health, the division about to be spun off, is facing significant legal challenges related to claims that its baby powder and other talc-based products caused cancer.
5. Novartis
Revenue: USD 51.6 billion
HQ: Basel, Switzerland
CEO: Dr Vasant Narasimhan
Notable developments: Sold its shares in Roche and initiated a “strategic review” to spin-off Sandoz
(Link to latest financial results)
The other Basel giant received 21 approvals in the US, the EU, Japan and China, including two new molecular entities in 2021. “We have a promising mid- and late-stage portfolio, with more than 20 assets with expected approval by 2026 that each have sales potential over USD 1 billion,” said CEO Vasant Narasimhan.
Overall, Novartis’ revenue grew 6 percent compares to the previous year. Since it separates oncology from the rest of pharmaceuticals, their 2021 annual report showed that oncology failed to keep up with the rest. “Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism” were the fastest growing category for the group with a 43 percent increase.
6. Bayer
Revenue: €43 billion* (approx. USD 48.9 billion)
HQ: Leverkusen, Germany
CEO: Werner Baumann
Notable development: Crop Science posted a significant increase in volumes and prices, remains locked in a legal battle
(Link to latest financial results)
* Forecast by the company after Q3/2021 results were published. Q4/2021 annual report will be published March 01, 2022
After a challenging 2020, and with more hurdles in sight, Bayer has been on an investment spree with a USD 2 billion acquisition of a San Diego-based biotech and manufacturing sites in Latin America and Norway. Bayer is yet to publish its 2021 financial results but grew 5 percent during the first nine months of the year.
The Crop Science division continues to be the company’s top business (bringing in EUR 18,840 million in 2020), it is also its main headache. When Bayer bought Monsanto, the American agrochemical and agricultural biotech, three years ago for a whopping USD 63 billion in cash, it also acquired a legal battle that is expected to cost USD 9.6 billion.
7. Merck (Merck Sharp & Dohme)
Revenue: USD 48.7 billion
HQ: Kenilworth, New Jersey, United States
CEO: Robert M. Davis
Notable development: Received approval for molnupiravir, its oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19
(Link to latest financial results)
MSD mentioned the advancement of its broad pipeline, the acquisition of Acceleron Pharma and authorization of monlupiravir, its oral antiviral for Covid-19, as the highlights of 2021. Developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, monlupiravir brought in USD 952 million in the fourth quarter of the year.
“We enter 2022 with strong momentum and are moving with speed to bring forward innovations,” said CEO Robert Davis. MSD is anticipating more than 90 potential new indications by 2028, including “notable” progress for Keytruda, the company’s anti-PD-1 therapy that sold USD 17.2 billion in 2021.
8. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)
Revenue: USD 46.4 billion
HQ: New York, United States
CEO: Dr Giovanni Caforio
Notable development: Its blood-thinner medication Eliquis grew 17 percent, reaching USD 10.7 billion in sales
(Link to latest financial results)
“2021 was a pivotal year for our company as we achieved significant regulatory and clinical milestones and positioned the company to successfully renew our portfolio,” said Giovanni Caforio, CEO, in a press release. After a successful year for Eliquis (blood-thinner medication), BMS now has two USD 10+ billion-dollar blockbusters.
9. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Revenue: £34 billion (approx. USD 46.1 USD)
HQ: London, United Kingdom
CEO: Emma Walmsley
Notable developments: Sold USD 1.9 billion in covid-related products, refused a £50 billion offer from Unilever for its consumer health unit
(Link to latest financial results)
GSK’s sotrovimab, developed with Vir Biotechnology, is one of the few Covid-19 treatments shown to have worked against the Omicron variant. It was amongst the company’s top selling offerings in 2021, according to Reuters, who also reported that GSK is “pressing on with the spin off of its consumer arm, home to brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkiller, after turning down Unilever’s 50 billion pound buyout offer for the unit in December.”
Speaking about expectations for 2020, CEO Emma Walmsley ventured that “this is going to be a landmark year for GSK, with a step-change in growth expected and multiple R&D catalysts, including milestones on up to 7 key late-stage pipeline assets. 2022 is also the year when we demerge our world-leading Consumer Healthcare business.”
10. Sanofi
Revenue: €37.7 billion (approx. USD 42.9 USD)
HQ: Paris, France
CEO: Paul Hudson
Notable development: Specialty care became the largest business unit for the first time
(Link to latest financial results)
Expecting to complete phase III trial of its Covid-19 vaccine soon, the French company started 2022 with a branding overhaul. In 2021, Sanofi obtained 8 “major” approvals in the US and EU for Dupixent, Libtayo, Sarclisa, Nexviazyme, and strengthened its early pipeline with 36 projects in phases I-II. For the first time ever, the specialty care business unit became the largest one by sales, almost doubling vaccines.
“Sanofi has closed 2021 with a strong performance in the fourth quarter driven by high double-digit sales growth of Dupixent®, which continues to set impressive record sales quarter after quarter. This quarter marks the first time Specialty Care has led our GBUs by sales, highlighting a significant milestone in our transformation,” said CEO Paul Hudson.
source: PharmaBoardroom – Top 10 Global Pharma Companies 2021
As you will notice, Big Pharma generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet the largest settlement ever paid out for their many frauds is $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer in 2009. How can such a corrupt company be entrusted to deliver a safe vaccine? Let alone a mandated experimental mRNA injection?
Let’s now compare these enormous annual revenue streams to the fines Big Pharma pays.
How Industry Dollars Reach Your Doctors
Big Pharma’s Big Fines
by Lena Groeger, ProPublica
Feb. 24, 2014
In the last few years pharmaceutical companies have agreed to pay over $13 billion to resolve U.S. Department of Justice allegations of fraudulent marketing practices, including the promotion of medicines for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Here are summaries of some recent large settlements.
Pfizer
SEPT 2009
Pfizer was fined $2.3 billion, then the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the United States. Pfizer pled guilty to misbranding the painkiller Bextra with “the intent to defraud or mislead”, promoting the drug to treat acute pain at dosages the FDA had previously deemed dangerously high. Bextra was pulled from the market in 2005 due to safety concerns. The government alleged that Pfizer also promoted three other drugs illegally: the antipsychotic Geodon, an antibiotic Zyvox, and the antiepileptic drug Lyrica.
See Pfizer in Dollars For Docs
Merck
NOV 2011
Merck agreed to pay a fine of $950 million related to the illegal promotion of the painkiller Vioxx, which was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after studies found the drug increased the risk of heart attacks. The company pled guilty to having promoted Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis before it had been approved for that use. The settlement also resolved allegations that Merck made false or misleading statements about the drug’s heart safety to increase sales.
GlaxoSmithKline
JULY 2012
GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay a fine of $3 billion to resolve civil and criminal liabilities regarding its promotion of drugs, as well as its failure to report safety data. This is the largest health care fraud settlement in the United States to date. The company pled guilty to misbranding the drug Paxil for treating depression in patients under 18, even though the drug had never been approved for that age group. GlaxoSmithKline also pled guilty to failing to disclose safety information about the diabetes drug Avandia to the FDA.
See GlaxoSmithKline in
Dollars For Docs
Sanofi-Aventis
DEC 2012
Sanofi-Aventis agreed to pay $109 million to resolve allegations that the company gave doctors free units of Hyalgan (an injection to relieve knee pain) to encourage those doctors to buy their product. Sanofi lowered the effective price by promising these free samples to doctors, but at the same time got inflated prices from government programs by submitting false price reports, alleged the United States. Medicare and other government health care programs “paid millions of dollars in kickback-tainted claims for Hyalgan,” according to the DOJ announcement.
Johnson & Johnson
NOV 2013
Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay a $2.2 billion fine to resolve criminal and civil allegations relating to the prescription drugs Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor. The government alleged that J&J promoted these drugs for uses not approved as safe and effective by the FDA, targeted elderly dementia patients in nursing homes, and paid kickbacks to physicians and to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy provider, Omnicare Inc. As part of the agreement, Johnson & Johnson admitted that it promoted Risperdal for treatment of psychotic symptoms in non-schizophrenic patients, although the drug was approved only to treat schizophrenia.
$1.42B$2.3B$520M$950M$1.5B$3B$95M$109M$762M$2.2B$193M
Eli Lilly
JAN 2009
Eli Lilly was fined $1.42 billion to resolve a government investigation into the off-label promotion of the antipsychotic Zyprexa. Zyprexa had been approved for the treatment of certain psychotic disorders, but Lilly admitted to promoting the drug in elderly populations to treat dementia. The government also alleged that Lilly targeted primary care physicians to promote Zyprexa for unapproved uses and “trained its sales force to disregard the law.”
See Eli Lilly in
Dollars For Docs
AstraZeneca
APRIL 2010
AstraZeneca was fined $520 million to resolve allegations that it illegally promoted the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The drug was approved for treating schizophrenia and later for bipolar mania, but the government alleged that AstraZeneca promoted Seroquel for a variety of unapproved uses, such as aggression, sleeplessness, anxiety, and depression. AstraZeneca denied the charges but agreed to pay the fine to end the investigation.
See AstraZeneca in
Dollars For Docs
Abbott
MAY 2012
Abbott was fined $1.5 billion in connection to the illegal promotion of the antipsychotic drug Depakote. Abbott admitted to having trained a special sales force to target nursing homes, marketing the drug for the control of aggression and agitation in elderly dementia patients. Depakote had never been approved for that purpose, and Abbott lacked evidence that the drug was safe or effective for those uses. The company also admitted to marketing Depakote to treat schizophrenia, even though no study had found it effective for that purpose.
Boehringer Ingelheim
OCT 2012
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc agreed to pay $95 million to resolve allegations that the company promoted several drugs for non- medically accepted uses. These drugs included the stroke-prevention drug Aggrenox, the lung disease drugs Atrovent and Combivent, and Micardis, a drug to treat high blood pressure. The FDA alleged that Boehringer improperly marketed the drugs and “caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs.”
Amgen
DEC 2012
Amgen agreed to pay a $762 million fine to resolve criminal and civil charges that the company illegally introduced and promoted several drugs including Aranesp, a drug to treat anemia. Amgen pleaded guilty to illegally selling Aranesp to be used at doses that the FDA had explicitly rejected, and for an off-label treatment that had never been FDA-approved.
Endo
FEB 2014
Endo Health Solutions Inc. and its subsidiary Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to pay $192.7 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from Endo’s marketing of the prescription drug Lidoderm. As part of the agreement, Endo admitted that it intended that Lidoderm be used for unapproved indications and that it promoted Lidoderm to healthcare providers this way.
Source: The Department of Justice.
Clearly until more significant fines and jail time are in order to reign in Big Pharma. The medical mafia is creating a tyranny in league with government. This is a dangerous and deadly slope we must avoid at all costs.
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