More than half of the top 20 global innovative pharma companies by market cap (Mcap) value saw a decrease in their MCap in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020. Even more worrisome is that nearly all of these pharma companies saw an increase in their MCap over 2019 (Q1 to Q4 2019).

Sharon Cartic, Associate Director for Drugs and Business Fundamentals Databases at GlobalData, comments: “The top 20 pharma companies witnessed an overall 7.9% decrease in MCap over Q1 2020, equivalent to $2.2 trillion, in contrast to the 9% increase aggregate MCap of approximately $2.8 trillion over 2019.

“As all eyes turn to the pharma companies, those with COVID-19 drugs in clinical trials are somewhat better placed to withstand the impact of the virus pandemic. Johnson & Johnson continues to maintain top position in the list, despite suffering a 10% decline in its quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) MCap.”

The MCap of the majority of the companies in the list fell in the period due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a global economic slowdown.