Biotech's Biggest Spenders... 2010

Big Pharma is a global business, with a host of players scattered throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia. But Big Biotech was born and bred in the U.S. And despite considerable international diversification, the industry still has made-in-the-USA stamped into its DNA.

FierceBiotech analyzed the EU's newly released Industrial R&D Investment Scorecard and came up with the top 15 biotech R&D budgets from around the world, with some additional insights into the companies' discovery strategies. Look over the top 15 global biotechs and you'll find 11 that call the U.S. home. The top five are all American. After skipping past a Japanese and Australian company, the first European biotech pops up in 11th place.

The companies you'll find here, rather, may find themselves on the menu of Big Pharma companies over the coming year. Some already are. Roche's acquisition of Genentech underscored that trend. And Sanofi's slow-motion hostile move on Genzyme drives the message home unmistakably. And it's a hunger to acquire what they've achieved with their R&D budgets that's driving it.

1. Amgen - $2.72B (€1.99B)
2. Biogen Idec - $1.2B (€894M)
3. Gilead Sciences - $849M (€620M)
4. Genzyme - $805M (€588M
5. Celgene - $745M (€544M)
6. Kyowa Hakko Kirin - $478M (€349M)
7. Vertex Pharmaceuticals - $454M (€332M)
8. Life Technologies - $320M (€234M)
9. CSL - $267M (€195M)
10. Amylin Pharmaceuticals - $172M (€126M)
11. Genmab - 123.01M (€90.14M)
12. Cubist Pharmaceuticals - $118.8M (€87.05M)
13. Merial Animal Health - $115M (€84.2M)
14. MannKind - $108.95M (€79.1)
15. Abraxis Biosciences - $107M (€78.4M)