Drugmakers Among Fortune Global 500

Judged by revenues, pharmaceutical companies are way down the list ofFortune magazine's 1997 global top 500 companies, with the highest ranked drugmaker, Switzerland's Novartis, at number 95 and the next, Johnson & Johnson, coming in at number 152.

However, when it comes to return on assets and revenues, the picture changes dramatically. On highest return on assets, Glaxo Wellcome - at 22.1% - comes top of the listing, with Bristol-Myers Squibb (19.4%) in fourth place, Abbott Laboratories (16.9%) in fifth place, Merck & Co (15.9%) in sixth, J&J (14.4%) seventh, Pfizer (13.2%) eighth and SmithKline Beecham (11.9%) in tenth position.

Top 10 By 1996 Sales -------------------------------------- Novartis $29.31 bill Johnson & Johnson $21.62 bill Merck & Co $19.83 bill American Home Prods $15.07 bill Bristol-Myers Squibb $14.09 bill Glaxo Wellcome $13.03 bill Roche Holdings $12.92 bill SmithKline Beecham $12.38 bill Pfizer $11.31 bill Abbott Laboratories $11.01 bill --------------------------------------