2020 Research Leaders: Leading corporate institutions in chemistry

The 2020 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.

Table criteria

Position Institution Share 2018 Share 2019 Count 2019 Change in Adjusted Share* 2018–2019
1 Merck & Co., Inc., United States of America (USA) 22.27 25.90 48 8.5% Increase
2 AstraZeneca plc, United Kingdom (UK) 10.87 17.28 56 48.2% Increase
3 Novartis AG, Switzerland 6.74 14.91 35 106.5% Increase
4 Toyota Group, Japan 3.37 12.75 24 253.1% Increase
5 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland 15.16 12.27 23 -24.5% Decrease
6 Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), United States of America (USA) 14.77 11.77 23 -25.7% Decrease
7 IBM, United States of America (USA) 20.94 11.19 23 -50.1% Decrease
8 Pfizer Inc., United States of America (USA) 12.07 9.16 26 -29.2% Decrease
9 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., United States of America (USA) 9.47 6.77 36 -33.4% Decrease
10 Dow, United States of America (USA) 10.03 6.58 34 -38.8% Decrease
11 China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), China 5.25 6.54 82 16.1% Increase
12 Johnson & Johnson, United States of America (USA) 5.95 6.27 18 -1.7% Decrease
13 FiberHome Technologies Group, China 4.27 6.03 52 31.8% Increase
14 GSK, United Kingdom (UK) 7.74 5.84 17 -29.6% Decrease
15 Bruker Corporation, United States of America (USA) 5.09 5.21 26 -4.6% Decrease
16 Waters Corporation, United States of America (USA) 2.40 5.13 13 98.9% Increase
17 AbbVie Inc., United States of America (USA) 4.58 4.72 13 -3.9% Decrease
18 Samsung Group, South Korea 6.05 4.67 22 -28.1% Decrease
19 Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., China 5.59 4.57 21 -23.7% Decrease
20 Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), United States of America (USA) 4.78 4.30 16 -16.1% Decrease
21 Eli Lilly and Company, United States of America (USA) 2.12 4.26 20 87.6% Increase
22 Amgen Inc., United States of America (USA) 2.38 3.95 6 54.7% Increase
23 Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany 4.08 3.85 8 -11.9% Decrease
24 BASF SE, Germany 6.41 3.64 22 -47.0% Decrease
25 Bayer AG, Germany 3.57 3.51 9 -8.1% Decrease
26 Shimadzu Corporation, Japan 3.23 3.49 7 0.6% Increase
27 Shanghai Jiahua Poly Battery Technology Co., Ltd., China 3.58 3.23 10 -15.8% Decrease
28 UCB S.A., Belgium 4.20 3.20 15 -29.0% Decrease
29 Sinopec Corporation, China 1.05 3.09 11 174.3% Increase
30 China National Tobacco Company (CNTC), China 1.27 3.01 7 121.6% Increase
31 Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM), Netherlands 0.14 3.00 9 1,858.1% Increase
32 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), Japan 3.10 2.92 5 -12.0% Decrease
33 China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), China 2.97 2.88 14 -9.5% Decrease
34 Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia 1.36 2.83 9 94.2% Increase
35 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, United States of America (USA) 0.68 2.72 7 273.7% Increase
36 Rigaku Corporation, Japan 2.09 2.63 15 17.4% Increase
37 JEOL Ltd., Japan 2.35 2.54 18 0.8% Increase
38 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., United States of America (USA) 2.00 2.54 6 18.3% Increase
39 Biogen Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.05 2.24 5 3,799.1% Increase
40 Piramal Enterprises Limited, India 2.00 2.00 2 -6.7% Decrease
41 Sanofi, France 3.29 1.90 11 -46.0% Decrease
42 Synfuels China Technology Co., Ltd., China 2.52 1.90 11 -29.7% Decrease
43 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., United States of America (USA) 0.00 1.79 2 0.0% Increase
44 Mitsubishi Group, Japan 1.56 1.75 10 4.4% Increase
45 Ilika plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.00 1.65 2 0.0% Increase
46 Takasago International Corporation, Japan 0.80 1.61 2 87.4% Increase
47 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Japan 2.10 1.60 3 -28.8% Decrease
48 BP plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.40 1.59 4 270.7% Increase
49 Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Japan 0.24 1.55 4 509.2% Increase
50 Panasonic Corporation, Japan 1.50 1.55 4 -3.5% Decrease

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.