The biggest pharmaceutical companies in the UK, 2026
The biggest pharma companies in the UK ranked by the turnover in their own filed Companies House accounts — drug makers, the UK arms of the global multinationals, biopharma and contract manufacturers. Wholesale distributors are excluded, and the two giants that report globally — GSK and AstraZeneca — are explained rather than ranked.
What the filings show
The headline names are missing on purpose. GSK (~£31B) and AstraZeneca (~$54B) are the UK's pharma giants, but both report as global groups and scatter their UK activity across separate research, manufacturing and sales companies — there is no single comparable "UK pharma turnover" to rank. So this table is the comparable field below them: Hikma leads, and 7 of the entries are the British arms of global multinationals (Eli Lilly, Novartis, Janssen, Boehringer) booking their UK sales.
One number jumps out: Eli Lilly's UK turnover leapt (+90%) — the weight-loss drug boom (Mounjaro) showing up in filed accounts. The wider growth table — Eli Lilly UK (+90%), Astex Therapeutics (+46%), Omega Pharma (+39%), Amgen UK (+20%) — is GLP-1 demand, biotech milestones and post-pandemic normalisation, all at once.
The quiet story is contract manufacturing: 5 of the companies here are CDMOs and CROs (Patheon, Catalent, Fujifilm Diosynth, Bespak, Labcorp) that make drugs and run trials for other firms rather than sell their own. A large slice of "UK pharma" is actually outsourced capacity — and it's a genuine national strength, from Swindon to Teesside.
Top 25 pharmaceutical companies in the UK by filed turnover
Latest accounts filed as of June 2026 · refreshed monthly
| # | Firm | Turnover | YoY | Staff | Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hikma Multinational generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals plc — UK-listed; this is its global group figure (operations in the US, MENA and Europe). | £2.50B | +7% | 9,603 | FY to Dec 2025 |
| 02 | Eli Lilly UK UK subsidiary of pharmaceutical group | £889M | +90% | 634 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 03 | Patheon UK contract manufacturing (CDMO) Pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary Thermo Fisher’s UK drug-manufacturing arm. | £819M | -4% | 444 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 04 | Novartis UK UK subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical group | £743M | +18% | 1,330 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 05 | Baxter Healthcare UK pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary Hospital products and medical devices. | £663M | -8% | 1,507 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 06 | Ipsen Biopharm Biopharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary UK manufacturing and R&D of the French biopharma group. | £661M | -0% | 713 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 07 | Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor Johnson & Johnson’s UK pharma arm. | £637M | -2% | 1,090 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 08 | Indivior Addiction treatment pharmaceutical subsidiary Indivior UK Limited — addiction-treatment specialist, demerged from Reckitt. | £545M | +9% | 192 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 09 | Teva UK Pharmaceutical manufacturer and supplier | £456M | +0% | 436 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 10 | Jazz Pharmaceuticals UK pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary Jazz Pharmaceuticals Operations UK. | £452M | -19% | 252 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 11 | Astex Therapeutics biotech R&D Biotechnology drug discovery subsidiary Cancer drug-discovery (Otsuka-owned). | £404M | +46% | 183 | FY to Dec 2025 |
| 12 | Amgen UK biotech (UK arm) Biotechnology research and development subsidiary | £373M | +20% | 659 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 13 | Eisai Pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary Eisai Manufacturing — UK base of the Japanese group. | £353M | +10% | 186 | FY to Mar 2025 |
| 14 | Boehringer Ingelheim UK subsidiary of a pharmaceutical group | £350M | — | 414 | FY to Dec 2025 |
| 15 | Elanco UK animal health Animal health products subsidiary | £343M | +3% | 331 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 16 | Labcorp Early Development contract research (CRO) Biotechnology research and development laboratory The former Covance UK — clinical-trial services. | £292M | +11% | 2,938 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 17 | Aurobindo (Laxmi BNS) Pharmaceutical manufacturing and wholesale group Laxmi BNS Holdings — UK arm of India’s Aurobindo. | £437M | — | 401 | 18-mo period to Mar 2025 |
| 18 | Bristol-Myers Squibb Biopharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary | £285M | -22% | 401 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 19 | Mercury Pharma Pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiary Part of the Advanz Pharma group. | £283M | -10% | 113 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 20 | Atnahs (Pharmanovia) Pharmaceutical manufacturer and wholesaler Atnahs Pharma UK — established-brands specialist trading as Pharmanovia. | £276M | -14% | 338 | FY to Mar 2025 |
| 21 | Omega Pharma consumer health Perrigo-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer OTC/consumer healthcare (Perrigo). | £263M | +39% | 221 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 22 | Accord-UK Pharmaceutical manufacturer UK arm of India’s Intas; sibling Accord Healthcare files separately. | £251M | -5% | 699 | FY to Mar 2025 |
| 23 | Jazz Research UK biotech R&D UK biotechnology research subsidiary Jazz Pharmaceuticals Research UK. | £240M | -19% | 294 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 24 | Bespak contract manufacturing (CDMO) PE-backed medical and pharmaceutical manufacturer Drug-delivery device manufacturer. | £236M | — | 1,258 | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 25 | Sandoz UK Generic pharmaceutical manufacturer | £231M | +3% | 102 | FY to Dec 2024 |
The next 4
Firms ranked 26–29
| 26 | Fujifilm Diosynth contract manufacturing (CDMO) | £202M | +14% | FY to Mar 2025 |
| 27 | Quantum Pharmaceutical specials manufacturer | £200M | +15% | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 28 | Vitabiotics consumer health | £196M | -0% | FY to Dec 2024 |
| 29 | Catalent contract manufacturing (CDMO) | £272M | — | 18-mo period to Dec 2025 |
The firms we can't rank
Pharma's biggest names are missing because they report globally — and its biggest filed numbers belong to wholesalers, not drug makers.
- GSK — the UK’s largest pharma company (~£31B global revenue) reports as a global group and splits its UK activity across R&D, manufacturing and sales entities — no single comparable UK pharma-turnover line
- AstraZeneca — the UK’s second pharma giant (~$54B global revenue) reports globally; its UK entities don’t isolate a comparable pharma-turnover figure
- AAH, Alliance Healthcare, Sciensus — pharmaceutical wholesalers and homecare distributors — turnover is medicines bought and resold, not made
- Reckitt, Haleon (consumer health) — consumer-health groups (Nurofen, Sensodyne) report globally and sit in a different category from prescription pharma
How this list is built
Source. The latest annual accounts each firm filed at Companies House. Where a firm files consolidated group accounts, the group figure is used; the entity ranked is named under each firm. Where a firm filed a transition period longer or shorter than twelve months (flagged in the Accounts column), the table shows the filed figure but the firm is ranked on its annualised equivalent.
Who counts as a pharma company. Drug manufacturers, the UK operating arms of global multinationals, biopharma R&D, and contract development/manufacturing and research organisations (CDMO/CRO) — tagged by type. We exclude pharmaceutical wholesalers and homecare distributors (turnover is medicines resold, not made), in-vitro diagnostics, genomics-tools and lab-reagent companies, and consumer- health groups.
Scope. UK-registered filings. GSK and AstraZeneca report as global groups and split UK activity across several entities, so they are described in the briefing rather than ranked on a fragment. Where a UK-listed group's filing is global (Hikma), the footnote says so. Each multinational is represented by its main UK trading entity.
Cadence. Rebuilt monthly as new accounts land. Spot a company we've missed or misread? Tell us — the methodology only works if it's challenged.
Quick answers
- Why aren't GSK and AstraZeneca number one?
- They are the UK's two pharma giants — GSK turns over around £31B and AstraZeneca around $54B — but both report as global groups and split their UK activity across separate R&D, manufacturing and sales companies, so neither files a single comparable UK pharma-turnover figure. We describe them in the briefing rather than rank a fragment of them. This list ranks the companies whose UK filings are directly comparable.
- What is the biggest comparable UK pharma company here?
- Hikma at £2.50B — though as a UK-listed global generics group, that's its worldwide figure. Below it the table is the UK arms of the big multinationals (Eli Lilly, Novartis, Janssen) and home-grown specialty and contract manufacturers.
- Why isn't AAH Pharmaceuticals here — it turns over £3 billion?
- AAH is a wholesaler (McKesson's UK distribution arm): its turnover is medicines bought and resold to pharmacies, not made. Distributors, diagnostics firms and genomics-tools companies are excluded so the list compares drug makers with drug makers.
- What's a CDMO?
- A contract development and manufacturing organisation — it makes drugs for other companies. 5 are on this list (Patheon, Catalent, Fujifilm Diosynth, Bespak), a reminder that a lot of UK pharma capacity is outsourced manufacturing rather than branded medicine.