2017 Research Leaders: Leading corporate institutions in chemistry

The 2017 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016.

Table criteria

Position Institution Share 2015 Share 2016 Count 2016 Change in Adjusted Share* 2015–2016
1 Merck & Co., Inc., United States of America (USA) 16.85 23.35 38 47.2% Increase
2 AstraZeneca plc, United Kingdom (UK) 16.10 16.42 56 8.3% Increase
3 IBM, United States of America (USA) 22.48 15.97 33 -24.5% Decrease
4 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland 8.82 15.09 30 81.8% Increase
5 Pfizer Inc., United States of America (USA) 10.09 13.69 23 44.2% Increase
6 GSK, United Kingdom (UK) 15.46 11.73 35 -19.4% Decrease
7 Novartis AG, Switzerland 14.96 10.77 27 -23.5% Decrease
8 Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany 6.75 8.08 16 27.3% Increase
9 Dow, United States of America (USA) 8.88 7.78 26 -6.9% Decrease
10 BASF SE, Germany 7.30 7.01 33 2.1% Increase
11 Toyota Group, Japan 8.69 6.90 15 -15.7% Decrease
12 Amgen Inc., United States of America (USA) 5.53 6.87 11 32.1% Increase
13 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., United States of America (USA) 4.40 6.26 26 51.2% Increase
14 Samsung Group, South Korea 6.56 5.76 24 -6.7% Decrease
15 Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), United States of America (USA) 7.75 3.96 13 -45.7% Decrease
16 Bruker Corporation, United States of America (USA) 5.29 3.42 23 -31.2% Decrease
17 Shimadzu Corporation, Japan 0.01 2.92 10 20,659.3% Increase
18 Mitsubishi Group, Japan 2.77 2.90 17 11.1% Increase
19 China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), China 4.17 2.87 12 -26.8% Decrease
20 Johnson & Johnson, United States of America (USA) 3.41 2.65 5 -17.2% Decrease
21 China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), China 1.65 2.58 22 66.3% Increase
22 FiberHome Technologies Group, China 1.65 2.54 20 63.7% Increase
23 Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), United States of America (USA) 1.66 2.40 13 53.2% Increase
24 HRL Laboratories LLC, United States of America (USA) 1.28 2.31 3 91.9% Increase
25 HP Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.50 2.13 3 347.4% Increase
26 Center for Nanotechnology GmbH (CeNTech GmbH), Germany 2.89 2.07 11 -24.0% Decrease
27 AbbVie Inc., United States of America (USA) 1.06 2.03 4 103.1% Increase
28 Waters Corporation, United States of America (USA) 4.44 2.02 7 -51.6% Decrease
29 Seattle Genetics, Inc., United States of America (USA) 1.00 2.00 2 112.5% Increase
29 Q2 Solutions, United States of America (USA) 0.00 2.00 2 0.0% Increase
30 Chengdu Institute of Organic Chemistry (CIOC), CAS, China 1.99 1.92 8 2.7% Increase
31 Shanghai Jiahua Poly Battery Technology Co., Ltd., China 0.63 1.89 5 221.9% Increase
32 Johnson Matthey (JM), United Kingdom (UK) 2.99 1.86 5 -34.0% Decrease
33 Sanofi, France 5.31 1.84 4 -63.1% Decrease
34 Agilent Technologies, Inc., United States of America (USA) 2.06 1.83 6 -5.5% Decrease
35 Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan 2.32 1.81 6 -16.9% Decrease
36 Biogen Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 1.80 3 0.0% Increase
37 Eli Lilly and Company, United States of America (USA) 3.40 1.76 10 -44.9% Decrease
38 Panasonic Corporation, Japan 0.00 1.70 5 0.0% Increase
39 Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM), Netherlands 3.70 1.70 6 -51.2% Decrease
40 Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., China 1.55 1.68 10 15.3% Increase
41 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Japan 3.81 1.61 8 -55.0% Decrease
42 Solvay S.A., Belgium 1.17 1.57 6 42.0% Increase
43 Takasago International Corporation, Japan 0.00 1.57 3 0.0% Increase
44 Colgate-Palmolive Company, United States of America (USA) 0.00 1.49 3 0.0% Increase
45 Merck KGaA, Germany 2.23 1.48 10 -29.4% Decrease
46 Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark 1.55 1.46 4 -0.1% Decrease
47 Zhejiang NHU Company Ltd., China 1.41 1.36 3 2.6% Increase
48 Siemens AG, Germany 1.07 1.35 8 33.9% Increase
49 Haldor Topsøe A/S, Denmark 0.71 1.35 6 102.3% Increase

Footnote

Each year, the Nature Index publishes tables based on counts of high-quality research outputs in the previous calendar year. Users please note:

  1. The data behind the tables are based on a relatively small proportion of total research papers, they cover the natural sciences and health sciences only and outputs are non-normalized (that is, they don’t reflect the size of the country or institution, or its overall research output).
  2. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 145 natural-science and health-science journals. The journals were selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields. The list is reviewed periodically and journals may be removed or added. Articles from eLife were no longer included in the Nature Index from 2023 after the journal changed its publishing model.
  3. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals.
  4. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at nature.com/nature-index/.
  5. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Nature Index database undergoes regular updating, corrections, adjustment of institutional hierarchies, and removal of retracted papers and thus the live website can differ from the frozen research leaders.