World's top companies for R&D

• R&D investment: $9.1 billion
• 1-year growth: 0.8%

The second-highest-ranked pharma company is also Swiss. Novartis (NVS) has been caught up in the investigation into possible corruption in the healthcare industry in China, confirming in August that a former employee had complained to the authorities about "improper business conduct."

R&D spending was at the higher end of where the company would like it to be, CEO Joe Jimenez said last month. The company has launched a strategic review of some its business units, with the aim of focusing on pharma, eyecare and generics.

Jimenez identified oncology and regenerative medicine as two of the most promising areas of research earlier this year.

NEXT: Merck