By Donald Zuhn —

Earlier
this month, Genetic Engineering &
Biotechnology News published its list of the top 20 best-selling
prescription drugs worldwide for 2012 (see
"GEN Compiles List of Top Selling
Drugs for 2012").  The biotech publication has followed that
effort with a list of the top 20 biopharma companies in terms of research and
development spending.  GEN's latest list,
which the journal released on March 12 (see
"Top 20 Biopharma R&D Spenders"),
was based on figures disclosed by the companies in annual reports and quarterly
results press releases.  For each company
making its list, GEN has provided spending totals for 2008, 2011, and 2012,
R&D spending as a percentage of sales for 2008, 2011, and 2012, and the
percent change in R&D spending from 2011 to 2012.  2012 R&D spending for the top 20 companies
ranged from $1.156 billion to $9.332 billion.

GEN's
top 20 rankings are shown below, with GEN's figures for 2012 and 2008 R&D
spending.  We have also included the
number of biopharm patents for which the company was listed as an assignee in
2012.  Biopharm patents were determined to
be those patents designated as belonging to the following classes (each having
an assigned art unit in Technology Center 1600, which encompasses biotechnology
and organic chemistry):  260 (Chemistry of Carbon Compounds), 424 (Drug,
Bio-Affecting and Body Treating Compositions), 435 (Chemistry: Molecular
Biology and Microbiology), 436 (Chemistry: Analytical and Immunological
Testing), 504 (Plant Protecting and Regulating Compositions), 506 (Combinatorial
Chemistry Technology: Method, Library, Apparatus), 514 (Drug, Bio-Affecting and
Body Treating Compositions), 518 (Chemistry: Fischer-Tropsch Processes; or
Purification or Recovery of Products Thereof), 530 (Chemistry: Natural Resins
or Derivatives; Peptides or Proteins; Lignins or Reaction Products Thereof),
532, 534, 536, 540, 546, 548, 549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 562, 564, 568, 570
(Organic Compounds — Part of the Class 532-570 Series), 730 (Data Processing:
Structural Design, Modeling, Simulation, And Emulation), 800 (Multicellular
Living Organisms and Unmodified Parts Thereof and Related Processes), and/or
930 (Peptide or Protein Sequence), 987 (Organic Compounds Containing a Bi, Sb,
As, or P Atom or Containing a Metal Atom of the 6th to 8th Group of the Periodic
System).  Note: The identification of
biopharm patents in the table below may be limited in some respects.  For
example, to the extent that biopharm patents were designated in some other
class, such patents will be omitted from the number of biopharm patents. 
In addition, to the extent that a subsidiary of a given company contributed to
that company's patent count and the subsidiary had a distinct name, such
patents will be omitted from the number of biopharm patents.  Moreover, if
the company was not indicated on the face of the patent as an assignee, that
patent will be omitted from the number of biopharm patents.

Genetic Engineering &
Biotechnology News
Top 20 Biopharma R&D Spenders for
2012

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, "Top 20 Biopharma R&D Spenders,"
March 12, 2013.