Financebioinnovation

The trillion-dollar medicine cabinet

Scott DeCarloBy Scott DeCarloVP of Research
Scott DeCarloVP of Research

Scott DeCarlo is the VP of research at Fortune, where he oversees the publication’s signature lists, including the Fortune 500, Global 500, World’s Most Admired Companies, and Fastest-Growing Companies.

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By Jen Wieczner
Inside of a Gilead Sciences Lab
Darryl Kato, research scientist for Gilead Sciences Inc., works on the synthesis of a potential hepatitis C virus drug candidate at the company's lab in Foster City, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. Gilead acquired Pharmasset Inc. last month for its experimental hepatitis C treatments as it aims to compete with other drugmakers like Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Merck & Co. to develop a new class of oral cures for hepatitis C to replace older drugs that require injections. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by David Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Talk about a drug industry blockbuster. Over the past decade the market value of Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies has nearly doubled, to $1.5 trillion, thanks largely to the explosive growth of biotechnology firms. In 2004 there was just one true biotech name—Amgen—on the list. Today there are seven, with a combined market cap that is fast approaching that of the old-guard Big Pharma companies.

Data source by FactSet. Chart by Nicolas Rapp and Analee Kasudia.

This story is from the May 1, 2015 issue of Fortune magazine.