The drug industry officially has two new heavyweights.
For the first time, Regeneron and Vertex have crossed the $100 billion market cap threshold. They join about 15 other drugmakers that count as the industry’s biggest, and include other giants like Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Novartis.
And while it’s an arbitrary line, it’s also a signal of how the industry is evolving — both companies are biotechs that have spent years building their R&D identities with a sharper scientific focus and far less dealmaking than typically seen in pharma boardrooms. It’s a sign that new approaches to M&A, R&D and leadership strategies are shaping the future of pharma, and how the newest giants have been built differently.