Top ten R&D spenders

Last year the top 10 R&D spenders in the biopharma world shelled out a record $67.41 billion on drug development, with big acquisitions and bold trial plans upping the ante on what it takes to mount a major pipeline effort these days.

Analyzing the annual statements of the world's largest pharma companies, which provide the lion's share of the world's research budgets, FierceBiotech found that despite considerable cuts in a number of R&D operations, the Top 10 players saw a collective jump of more than 10 percent in R&D spending. And despite plans by Pfizer--Number One in R&D spending in 2010--to force through a major restructuring in R&D, this year Big Pharma will still be a big spender when it comes to drug research.

Top R&D budgets

1. Pfizer: $9.4 billion

2. Roche: $9.2 billion

3. Merck: $8.12 billion

4. Novartis: $8.08 billion

5. Johnson & Johnson: $6.84 billion

6. GlaxoSmithKline: $6.09 billion

7. Sanofi-Aventis: $5.94 billion

8. AstraZeneca: $5.3 billion

9. Eli Lilly: $4.88 billion

10. Bristol-Myers Squibb: $3.56 billion

Tied for 10th. Takeda Pharmaceutical: $3.5 billion