Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Who are the highest-paid executives this year?
Following is a list of 15 current or former biopharma CEOs who led their companies for at least part of 2012, ranked by their “total compensation” last year. Total compensation goes beyond salary, to include bonuses, stock awards, stock option awards, nonequity incentive plan compensation, and all other sources of compensation. For each CEO ranked, the list offers 2012 and 2011 compensation, the percentage change between the amounts, and their position, if ranked, on last year’s What the Top 10 Biopharma CEOs Are Making list, published by GEN on July 24, 2012.
This year’s list saw two key changes: One is that this year’s rankings are of individuals rather than companies, since two of last year’s Top 10 companies had more than one CEO during 2012. And the List has expanded to a Top 15, to ensure inclusion of all four CEOs with compensation in the $13.5 million range, rather than just one, and to better illustrate the spread beyond U.S. big pharma of compensation packages at or close to the eight-figure range.
As a result, this year the CEOs from Roche and Sanofi joined Novartis in raising the presence of non-U.S. companies on the list. The other CEOs listed head U.S.-based companies, which traditionally have paid their top executives much more than their counterparts at European and Japanese biopharmas, most of whom were paid in the seven-figure range. The highest compensation was paid this year not only by U.S.-based pharma giants, but by fast-growing U.S. biotechs as well.
Not listed this year are salaries of CEOs from two companies with significant medical device as well as drug development operations: According to their companies’ proxy filings with the SEC, Baxter International Chairman and CEO Robert L. Parkinson finished 2012 with $17,521,770 in total compensation, up 24.6% from the previous year. And David E.I. Pyott, Allergan’s chairman, president and CEO, received $21,164,198 last year, up 51.4% from his 2011 compensation.
#15. Christopher Viehbacher
Company: Sanofi
Full title: CEO
2012 Compensation: $9,910,278 (€7,481,151)1
2011 Compensation: $9,456,645 (€7,134,787)1
% Change: 4.9%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#14. Robert J. Hugin
Company: Celgene
Full title: CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board
2012 Compensation: $10,574,022
2011 Compensation: $8,917,999
% Change: 18.6%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#13. Alex Gorsky
Company: Johnson & Johnson
Full title: Chairman of the Board as of December 28, 2012; CEO as of April 26, 2012; previously vice chairman of the company’s Executive Committee with responsibility for the Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group, Global Supply Chain, Health Care Compliance & Privacy, and Government Affairs & Policy
2012 Compensation: $10,977,109
2011 Compensation: $6,836,860
% Change: 60.6%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#12. George A. Scangos
Company: Biogen Idec
Full title: CEO
2012 Compensation: $13,451,802
2011 Compensation: $11,331,441
% Change: 18.7%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#11. Severin Schwan
Company: Roche
Full title: CEO
2012 Compensation: $13,456,399 (CHF 12,537,385)1
2011 Compensation: $12,139,753 (CHF 11,311,916)1
% Change: 10.8%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#10. Robert A. Bradway
Company: Amgen
Full title: Chairman of the Board as of January 1, 2013; President and CEO as of May 24, 2012; previously President and COO
2012 Compensation: $13,570,091
2011 Compensation: $7,124,964
% Change: 90.5%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#9. Leonard Bell, M.D.
Company: Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Full title: CEO and Treasurer
2012 Compensation: $13,599,451
2011 Compensation: $13,030,056
% Change: 4.4%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
#8. Joseph Jimenez
Company: Novartis
Full title: CEO
2012 Compensation: $14,196,551 (CHF: 13,228,188)1
2011 Compensation: $16,874,192 (CHF: 15,722,386)1
% Change: -15.9%
Position on 2012 List: #6
#7. John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D.
Company: Eli Lilly
Full title: Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO
2012 Compensation: $14,620,633
2011 Compensation: $16,370,094
% Change: -10.7%
Position on 2012 List: #5
#6. John C. Martin
Company: Gilead Sciences
Full title: Chairman of the Board and CEO
2012 Compensation: $15,257,272
2011 Compensation: $15,615,645
% Change: -2.3%
Position on 2012 List: #7
#5. Kenneth C. Frazier
Company: Merck & Co.
Full title: Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO
2012 Compensation: $15,459,607
2011 Compensation: $13,347,652
% Change: 15.8%
Position on 2012 List: #10
#4. Lamberto Andreotti
Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Full title: CEO
2012 Compensation: $17,201,980
2011 Compensation: $14,911,947
% Change: 15.4%
Position on 2012 List: #8
#3. Ian Read
Company: Pfizer
Full title: Chairman of the Board and CEO
2012 Compensation: $25,634,136
2011 Compensation: $25,013,348
% Change: 2.5%
Position on 2012 List: #2
#2. William C. Weldon
Company: Johnson & Johnson
Full title: Chairman of the Board until December 28, 2012; CEO until April 26, 2012
2012 Compensation: $29,838,259
2011 Compensation: $26,797,939
% Change: 11.3%
Position on 2012 List: #1
#1. Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D.
Company: Regeneron
Full title: President and CEO
2012 Compensation: $30,047,0972
2011 Compensation: $10,562,661
% Change: 184.5%
Position on 2012 List: Not ranked
Notes:
1 Figures converted to U.S. dollars via www.xe.com on July 30, 2013.
2 88.6% of Dr. Schleifer’s compensation, $26,630,306, consists of option awards, a much higher percentage than those of other CEOs ranked on the list. Dr. Schleifer was also awarded a one-time $2.3 million bonus to reflect company’s exceeding its 2012 goals.
