Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Which biopharma company leaders are raking in the most in shares?
Molecules often not only lead to novel drugs but they also can make researchers and biotech company officials new millionaires—sometimes extravagantly wealthy ones. If you have any doubts, take a look at our list of the top 20 molecular millionaires in the biotech and pharma businesses. Their biopharma stock holdings can rival those of other major industries, which is probably something not many people saw in the cards in 1973 when Cohen and Boyer carried out the first experiment in genetic engineering.
Below are leaders of public biopharma companies listed by the value of their common shares as of the day they were tallied and recorded in filings, following the number of common shares they held on a given day, and that day’s closing share price.
#20. Christopher Viehbacher
CEO, Sanofi
Total value of common shares owned: $6,995,308
95,442 common shares owned as of Dec. 31, 2011
Closing price: $73.29 as of Dec. 30, 2011 (no trading on Dec. 31) [converted on Sept. 27, 2012 from €56.75]
#19. Kenneth C. Frazier
Chairman, President, and CEO, Merck & Co.
Total value of common shares owned: $7,372,084
195,546 common shares owned as of Dec. 31, 2011
Closing price: $37.70 as of Dec. 30, 2011 (no trading on Dec. 31)
#18. Matthew W. Emmens
Chairman, President, & CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Total value of common shares owned: $8,811,065
211,601 common shares owned as of March 19, 2012
Closing price: $41.64
#17. Lamberto Andreotti
CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Total value of common shares owned: $8,830,034.40
272,112 common shares owned as of Feb. 28, 2012
Closing price: $32.45
#16. Sir Andrew Witty
CEO, GlaxoSmithKline
Total value of common shares owned: $10,013,823.13
434,924 common shares owned as of March 9, 2012
Closing price: $23.01 [Converted on Sept. 27, 2012, from 1,418.50 pence = £14.1850 or $23.0125]
#15. Ian C. Read
Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
Total value of common shares owned: $10,414,994.80
486,682 common shares owned as of Jan. 31, 2012
Closing price: $21.40
#14. David Brennan1
CEO, AstraZeneca
Total value of common shares owned: $11,891,033.16
246,174 common shares owned as of Dec. 31, 2011
Closing price: $48.31 as of Dec. 30, 2011 (no trading on Dec. 31) [Converted Sept. 27, 2012, from 2,975.00 pence = £29.75 or $48.3113]
#13. Robert L. Parkinson, Jr.
Chairman and CEO, Baxter
Total value of common shares owned: $21,722,916.60
391,545 common shares owned as of Jan. 31, 2012
Closing price: $55.48
#12. Brian Anthony McNamee
CEO and Managing Director, CSL
Total value of common shares owned: $28,861,189.70
835,669 common shares owned as of June 30, 2011
Closing price: $34.54 [Converted on Sept. 27, 2012, from A$33.06]
#11. Howard Solomon
Chairman, President, and CEO, Forest Laboratories
Total value of common shares owned: $31,058,871.48
929,628 common shares owned as of June 25, 2012
Closing price: $33.41
#10. William C. Weldon
Chairman, Johnson & Johnson
Total value of common shares owned: $31,721,932
486,682 common shares owned as of Feb. 28, 2012
Closing price: $65.18
#9. James M. Cornelius
Non-executive Chairman; CEO, 2008–10, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Total value of common shares owned: $32,259,615.85
994,133 common shares owned as of Feb. 28, 2012
Closing price: $32.45
#8. Robert J. Hugin
Chairman and CEO, Celgene
Total value of common shares owned: $34,559,378.88
438,126 common shares owned as of April 18, 2012
Closing price: $78.88
#7. Kevin W. Sharer
Chairman and CEO, Amgen
Total value of common shares owned: $60,865,836.48
901,449 common shares owned as of March 26, 2012
Closing price: $67.52
#6. Joseph Jimenez
CEO, Novartis
Total value of common shares owned: $61,103,909.76
1,056,033 common shares owned as of Jan. 19, 2012
Closing price: $57.87 [Converted Sept. 27, 2012, from CHF 54.20 closing share price]
#5. Miles D. White
Chairman and CEO, Abbott Laboratories
Total value of common shares owned: $64,833,849.15
1,197,301 common shares owned as of Jan. 31, 2012
Closing price: $54.15
#4. John C. Martin, Ph.D.
Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences
Total value of common shares owned: $88,767,251.10
1,949,215 common shares owned as of Feb. 29, 2012
Closing price: $45.54
#3. Leonard Bell, M.D.
CEO, Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Total value of common shares owned: $93,541,944.15
1,050,915 common shares owned as of March 16, 2012
Closing price: $89.01
#2. Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D.
President and CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Total value of common shares owned: $257,315,504.13
2,119,393 common shares owned as of April 11, 2012
Closing price: $121.41
#1. Phillip Frost, M.D.
Chairman, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Total value of common shares owned: $548,379,553
13,587,204 common shares owned as of Dec. 31, 20112
Closing price: $40.36
For U.S. CEOs, this data is typically found in their companies’ definitive 2012 proxy statements (Form DEF 14-A), though it takes a careful reading of footnotes to subtract from the listed numbers stock purchasable upon the exercise of options, or stock held in trust for benefit of family members. For CEOs of companies based outside the U.S., such data can usually, but not always, be found in their 2011 annual reports or Form 20-F filings with the SEC.
Notes:
1 On April 26, 2012, AstraZeneca announced David Brennan decided to retire from the position, amid news reports he was pushed out.
2 Does not include the 1 million shares purchased May 30, 2012 at prices ranging from $37.82 to $39.57.
