Top 12 over 10: pharma stocks by market cap

With an essential role in the health and well-being of societies, the pharmaceutical industry has long attracted robust levels of capital, matching the high cost of cutting edge R&D and the eventual returns on investment.

Traditional rankings look at the performance of large pharma firms by revenue, but this evaluation can be hazardous.

Short-term financial shocks can skew the figures, and medium-term strategic direction and wider market forces are often obscured.