Top Healthcare Stocks by R&D Spending
Top healthcare companies ranked by r&d spending, latest annual filings.
What R&D Spending Means for Healthcare Companies
R&D spending in healthcare funds the clinical pipeline, from preclinical discovery through late-stage trials and regulatory submission. Pharma and biotech expense this work immediately even though trials run for years and the economic payoff, if it comes, arrives only after approval. The result is a line item that can dwarf reported earnings at small developers and compound into billions annually at integrated pharma, while pure-play device makers spend on a steadier rhythm.
Why It Matters in Healthcare
The pipeline is the business, so sustained R&D is a proxy for future revenue once the current portfolio faces patent cliffs or reimbursement pressure. A deep late-stage pipeline tends to attract premium valuations because the regulatory moat, once earned, is durable. Yet absolute dollars can mislead; clinical failure rates are high, and a firm concentrating spend on a few late-stage programs faces different risk than one running a broader early-stage portfolio.
What to Read Alongside
Read R&D alongside [Revenue](/financials/top-revenue-stocks/healthcare/) to gauge how much of current sales is being reinvested, [Net Income](/financials/top-net-income-stocks/healthcare/) to see the earnings drag at developmental firms, and [Free Cash Flow](/financials/top-free-cash-flow-stocks/healthcare/) to judge funding durability.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MRK | Merck & Co., Inc. | Healthcare | $15.79B | $297.02B |
| 2 | LLY | Eli Lilly and Company | Healthcare | $13.34B | $1003.45B |
| 3 | PFE | Pfizer Inc. | Healthcare | $10.44B | $146.42B |
| 4 | BMY | Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | Healthcare | $9.95B | $115.58B |
| 5 | ABBV | AbbVie Inc. | Healthcare | $9.10B | $397.42B |
| 6 | AMGN | Amgen Inc. | Healthcare | $7.27B | $186.52B |
| 7 | REGN | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $5.85B | $65.92B |
| 8 | GILD | Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $5.80B | $160.39B |
| 9 | VRTX | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Healthcare | $3.91B | $112.12B |
| 10 | MRNA | Moderna, Inc. | Healthcare | $3.13B | $20.47B |
| 11 | ABT | Abbott Laboratories | Healthcare | $2.94B | $158.12B |
| 12 | MDT | Medtronic plc | Healthcare | $2.73B | $105.19B |
| 13 | ONC | BeOne Medicines AG | Healthcare | $2.15B | $29.04B |
| 14 | BSX | Boston Scientific Corporation | Healthcare | $2.05B | $72.61B |
| 15 | INCY | Incyte Corporation | Healthcare | $2.05B | $20.23B |
| 16 | BIIB | Biogen Inc. | Healthcare | $1.78B | $29.00B |
| 17 | SYK | Stryker Corporation | Healthcare | $1.62B | $115.47B |
| 18 | DHR | Danaher Corporation | Healthcare | $1.60B | $132.10B |
| 19 | SRPT | Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.52B | $1.76B |
| 20 | TMO | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | Healthcare | $1.40B | $179.13B |
| 21 | ALNY | Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.32B | $40.54B |
| 22 | ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.31B | $148.33B |
| 23 | BDX | Becton, Dickinson and Company | Healthcare | $1.26B | $41.21B |
| 24 | GEHC | GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. | Healthcare | $1.26B | $29.03B |
| 25 | EW | Edwards Lifesciences Corporation | Healthcare | $1.08B | $50.35B |
| 26 | NBIX | Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.02B | $16.83B |
| 27 | TEVA | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Healthcare | $1.01B | $40.09B |
| 28 | RVMD | Revolution Medicines, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.99B | $33.10B |
| 29 | ILMN | Illumina, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.97B | $25.43B |
| 30 | VTRS | Viatris Inc. | Healthcare | $0.97B | $18.52B |
| 31 | BMRN | BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. | Healthcare | $0.92B | $10.91B |
| 32 | IONS | Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.92B | $12.42B |
| 33 | EXEL | Exelixis, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.83B | $13.19B |
| 34 | PCVX | Vaxcyte, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.79B | $7.04B |
| 35 | JAZZ | Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc | Healthcare | $0.78B | $15.06B |
| 36 | INSM | Insmed Incorporated | Healthcare | $0.77B | $22.74B |
| 37 | VEEV | Veeva Systems Inc. | Healthcare | $0.77B | $29.15B |
| 38 | RARE | Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | Healthcare | $0.75B | $2.30B |
| 39 | SOLV | Solventum Corporation | Healthcare | $0.74B | $14.27B |
| 40 | ZTS | Zoetis Inc. | Healthcare | $0.70B | $33.34B |
| 41 | ROIV | Roivant Sciences Ltd. | Healthcare | $0.68B | $21.24B |
| 42 | BHVN | Biohaven Ltd. | Healthcare | $0.64B | $1.72B |
| 43 | BHC | Bausch Health Companies Inc. | Healthcare | $0.63B | $1.96B |
| 44 | NTRA | Natera, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.62B | $31.81B |
| 45 | ARWR | Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.61B | $10.59B |
| 46 | DXCM | DexCom, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.60B | $28.01B |
| 47 | RNAM | Avidity Biosciences Inc | Healthcare | $0.56B | $11.25B |
| 48 | UTHR | United Therapeutics Corporation | Healthcare | $0.55B | $23.25B |
| 49 | SMMT | Summit Therapeutics Inc. | Healthcare | $0.54B | $11.52B |
| 50 | RCUS | Arcus Biosciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.52B | $3.11B |
| 51 | EXAS | Exact Sciences Corp | Healthcare | $0.52B | $20.03B |
| 52 | BAX | Baxter International Inc. | Healthcare | $0.52B | $9.99B |
| 53 | RXRX | Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.48B | $2.02B |
| 54 | ZBH | Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.46B | $16.77B |
| 55 | IMVT | Immunovant, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.46B | $6.71B |
| 56 | VIR | Vir Biotechnology, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.46B | $1.54B |
| 57 | PTCT | PTC Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.46B | $5.86B |
| 58 | RPRX | Royalty Pharma plc | Healthcare | $0.45B | $24.39B |
| 59 | BBIO | BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.45B | $13.19B |
| 60 | DNLI | Denali Therapeutics Inc. | Healthcare | $0.42B | $3.20B |
| 61 | CYTK | Cytokinetics, Incorporated | Healthcare | $0.42B | $9.81B |
| 62 | BEAM | Beam Therapeutics Inc. | Healthcare | $0.41B | $3.38B |
| 63 | DYN | Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.40B | $3.04B |
| 64 | BRKR | Bruker Corporation | Healthcare | $0.40B | $9.13B |
| 65 | NTLA | Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.39B | $2.06B |
| 66 | MDGL | Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.39B | $11.36B |
| 67 | ALMS | Alumis Inc. | Healthcare | $0.39B | $2.60B |
| 68 | BLCO | Bausch + Lomb Corporation | Healthcare | $0.37B | $5.47B |
| 69 | ALGN | Align Technology, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.37B | $12.05B |
| 70 | HNGE | Hinge Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.37B | $4.87B |
| 71 | ELAN | Elanco Animal Health Incorporated | Healthcare | $0.37B | $12.34B |
| 72 | OGN | Organon & Co. | Healthcare | $0.37B | $3.52B |
| 73 | GH | Guardant Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.36B | $17.64B |
| 74 | ETNB | 89bio, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.35B | $2.20B |
| 75 | VKTX | Viking Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.34B | $3.46B |
| 76 | NVAX | Novavax, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.34B | $1.68B |
| 77 | AGIO | Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.34B | $1.71B |
| 78 | VRDN | Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.34B | $1.83B |
| 79 | CRNX | Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.33B | $3.65B |
| 80 | RMD | ResMed Inc. | Healthcare | $0.33B | $28.19B |
| 81 | ACAD | ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Healthcare | $0.33B | $3.72B |
| 82 | ALKS | Alkermes plc | Healthcare | $0.32B | $7.23B |
| 83 | VOR | Vor Biopharma Inc. | Healthcare | $0.32B | $0.78B |
| 84 | NRIX | Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.32B | $1.58B |
| 85 | KYMR | Kymera Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.32B | $6.14B |
| 86 | IDYA | IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.31B | $2.57B |
| 87 | NUVL | Nuvalent, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.31B | $7.43B |
| 88 | PODD | Insulet Corporation | Healthcare | $0.30B | $10.14B |
| 89 | XENE | Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Healthcare | $0.30B | $5.12B |
| 90 | IOVA | Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.30B | $1.96B |
| 91 | APLS | Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.30B | $5.25B |
| 92 | CRSP | CRISPR Therapeutics AG | Healthcare | $0.28B | $5.49B |
| 93 | TDOC | Teladoc Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.28B | $1.32B |
| 94 | BIO | Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.28B | $8.23B |
| 95 | IMCR | Immunocore Holdings plc | Healthcare | $0.27B | $1.46B |
| 96 | COGT | Cogent Biosciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.27B | $5.60B |
| 97 | PRAX | Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.27B | $7.38B |
| 98 | HQY | HealthEquity, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.26B | $7.19B |
| 99 | RLAY | Relay Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.26B | $3.17B |
| 100 | SNDX | Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $0.26B | $1.60B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by r&d spending as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.
- Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
- Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
- Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
- Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).
Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.