Which are the top 3 pharma companies for efficient business?

In recent months, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have seen a drive for streamlined business, with a sharp rise in M&A activity, internal restructuring and new headquarters and facilities. While the investor community has tended to view these changes positively when linked to improved financial performance, employees and local politicians reacted negatively when jobs were cut.

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies that emphasised improved efficiency in corporate communications managed to counter this negativity—and a wide range of efficiency achievements earned reputational positivity. In Q1, companies including Biogen, Shire and Celgene effectively related efficiency measures to internal performance, environmental sustainability and external relationships.

So, which pharmaceutical and biotech companies ranked as the top 3 most efficient in Q2?

1. Genzyme: 5% above efficiency sector average

Genzyme gained a reputation around biomanufacturing efficiency. The company was featured in several trade media publications as a company that had invested in aseptic fill-finish facilities “to improve quality and efficiency and minimise risk”. Historical efficiency was also recognised, with Genzyme cited alongside Bayer as having improved the fermentation phase of upstream processing with technological advancements “for the past twenty years”.

2. Novo Nordisk: 3% above efficiency sector average

Novo Nordisk earned a reputation for efficiency thanks to its in-house manufacturing processes and advancement in efficient drug administration. With plans to build a new Danish plant to support haemophilia drug production, Novo Nordisk will reportedly continue to manufacture “nearly all its products in-house”. The company was also listed as a partner in DAWN2, a global diabetes study focused on the development of new drugs and “efficient administration devices”.

3. Gilead Sciences: 1% above efficiency sector average

Gilead’s efficient team structure was credited with R&D success. Gilead’s Sovaldi and Harvoni were touted as Pharm Exec’s 2015 Brands of the Year, with the “incredible efficiency” of Gilead’s in-house clinical development team credited as having aided the drugs’ development.

With restructuring and realignment in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries ongoing, companies that push messaging around efficiency in many forms are likely to benefit.