Recent research from reputation data specialist RepTrak (Boston) indicates that the pharma industry had the largest year-over-year reputational improvement of any sector, according to its roundup of top 100 corporations. The sector saw significant gains in consumers’ perception of its citizenship and governance. 

Now ranked eighth overall, the pharma industry came in just ahead of the consumer services industry and just behind the automobiles and components sector. 

The pharma industry began to see its reputation improve beginning in the second quarter of 2020, when the industry claimed a leading role in pandemic recovery, according to RepTrak.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the pharmaceutical sector has the highest reputation of any industry, according to RepTrak’s report. 

In creating the listing, RepTrack surveyed 68,577 people in 15 countries, asking them to assess established corporations’ reputation. The survey was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021. Only companies with revenues above $2 billion were eligible. 

RepTrak converted the survey results into numeric scores on a 100-point scale for each entrant. 

The top-ranking pharmaceutical firms in the ranking include the following corporations, listed in the order of their overall ranking in the 2021 Global RepTrak 100. 

#64, Sanofi

Sanofi (Paris, France) moved up in the rankings this year in the Global RepTrak 100 listing. The company had a reputation score of 74.0. 

Sanofi has three core business units, including specialty care, vaccines and general medicines. It is spinning out a consumer health segment. 

#71, Novo Nordisk 

With a reputation score of 73.6, the diabetes specialist Novo Nordisk (Bagsværd, Denmark) cracked the top 10 among Boomers (aged 56 to 64), coming in at slot 8 for that demographic in the RepTrak ranking. Nevertheless, the company moved down in the rankings overall this year. 

#82, Eli Lilly 

Moving up in the rankings this year, Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, Ind.) develops drugs for depression, endocrinology, oncology and cardiovascular disease. Eli Lilly, named after the pharmaceutical chemist and Civil War veteran of the same name, had an overall reputational score of 73.3. 

#87, Roche 

With annual revenue of over $47 billion, Roche (Basel, Switzerland) is one of the world’s largest pharma companies. The pharmaceutical powerhouse had a reputational score of 73.2. The company moved down in the rankings this year. 

#94, Bristol-Myers Squibb

The New York City–headquartered pharmaceutical company has a broad focus, specializing in drug development related to cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, among other conditions. 

The company had an overall score of 73.1 in the rankings. It moved down in the rankings this year.