2017 Research Leaders: Leading corporate institutions in Nature & Science

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 Novartis AG, Switzerland 2.72 5.75 13 114.1% Increase
2 Alphabet Inc., United States of America (USA) 1.42 2.73 6 95.8% Increase
3 Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), United States of America (USA) 1.69 2.16 6 29.5% Increase
4 Sosei Co., Ltd., Japan 0.00 2.00 2 0.0% Increase
5 Amyris, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 1.00 1 0.0% Increase
5 HRL Laboratories LLC, United States of America (USA) 0.00 1.00 1 0.0% Increase
5 Dow, United States of America (USA) 0.09 1.00 1 1,015.4% Increase
6 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.17 1.00 2 481.4% Increase
7 Gilead Sciences, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.77 0.94 3 23.3% Increase
8 Merck & Co., Inc., United States of America (USA) 2.70 0.90 3 -66.0% Decrease
9 Pfizer Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.56 0.90 2 64.3% Increase
10 Biogen Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.07 0.82 1 1,106.5% Increase
11 Novogy, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.82 1 0.0% Increase
12 Haldor Topsøe A/S, Denmark 0.00 0.79 1 0.0% Increase
13 Microsoft Corporation, United States of America (USA) 0.29 0.78 4 170.5% Increase
14 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland 8.56 0.73 2 -91.3% Decrease
15 BASF SE, Germany 0.51 0.69 1 37.8% Increase
16 Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.67 1 0.0% Increase
17 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), Japan 0.25 0.55 2 125.0% Increase
18 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), New Zealand 0.05 0.53 4 926.8% Increase
19 BioNTech AG, Germany 0.06 0.53 1 866.9% Increase
20 Servier Laboratories, France 0.00 0.51 1 0.0% Increase
21 IBM, United States of America (USA) 3.14 0.50 4 -83.9% Decrease
22 Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), United States of America (USA) 0.35 0.50 1 44.7% Increase
22 CoorsTek Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.50 1 0.0% Increase
22 EC Power, United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.50 1 0.0% Increase
23 Peloton Therapeutics, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.48 2 0.0% Increase
24 BGI, China 1.03 0.45 3 -55.2% Decrease
25 Macrogen Inc., South Korea 0.00 0.45 1 0.0% Increase
26 Illumina, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.38 0.43 4 15.0% Increase
27 Aerodyne Research, Inc. (ARI), United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.42 6 0.0% Increase
28 Vir Biotechnology, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.10 0.42 2 347.8% Increase
29 Wellspring Biosciences, United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.40 1 0.0% Increase
30 GSK, United Kingdom (UK) 0.51 0.36 3 -28.0% Decrease
31 GNS Science, New Zealand 0.64 0.35 5 -44.9% Decrease
32 Bear Fight Institute (BFI), United States of America (USA) 0.12 0.34 5 184.0% Increase
33 Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp), United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.33 1 0.0% Increase
33 Crystalline Mirror Solutions GmbH, Austria 0.00 0.33 1 0.0% Increase
34 AstraZeneca plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 0.32 3 442.1% Increase
35 ConfometRx, United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.32 1 0.0% Increase
36 Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.45 0.32 3 -28.5% Decrease
37 Bioqual, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.03 0.32 4 993.3% Increase
38 Asymchem Labs., China 0.00 0.29 1 0.0% Increase
38 Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA), Australia 0.00 0.29 1 0.0% Increase
39 Leidos Holdings, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.61 0.25 6 -58.3% Decrease
40 Nanobactérie Sarl, France 0.00 0.25 1 0.0% Increase
40 Reykjavik Energy, Iceland 0.00 0.25 1 0.0% Increase
40 Integral Molecular, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.25 1 0.0% Increase
40 Thinkable.org, Australia 0.00 0.25 1 0.0% Increase
40 General Motors (GM), United States of America (USA) 0.00 0.25 1 0.0% 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.