In the world of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, arguably the largest in the field is the company known as Roche (RHHBY, Financial). Roche discovers, develops and provides innovative diagnostic and therapeutic products and services that deliver great benefits to patients and healthcare professionals, from early detection and prevention of disease to treatment and treatment monitoring.
Roche was founded in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche and is based out of Basel, Switzerland. The company's revenue as of 2014 was reported at 47.462 billion Swiss francs, approximately $49.43 billion.
Geographic regions
Roche employs over 80,000 employees all around the world including Africa, America, Europe, Asia and Australia. One of the company's greatest values is in Roche being a world leading supplier of cancer medicines, and the number one in vitro diagnostics, or tests on samples of tissues and or bodily fluids. The company is known to be very innovative when it comes to this field of testing for disease.
Another value the company holds for biotech investors is being the only drug company authorized to manufacture Tamiflu, which is a drug used against swine flu. Tamiflu is, however, only one of the company's 14 biological products on the market, and these products have made the argument for Roche to be the biggest in biotechnology.
Potential weaknesses
Some of the company's weaknesses also are related to the products themselves. Many of these products have imitations or fake medicines supplied under the brand's name which can have a poor effect on the company's reputation. Another certain flaw that has been seen at tech investor news outlets is the fact that Roche is making some of its key products available only to certain countries and not to others, surely limiting the consumer potential and upsetting distribution.
Further into the future, Roche faces a risk of unsuccessful new products, regulatory changes stalling or halting design of new products, and other economic slowdown possibilities. As for the time being, however, Roche is a pharmaceutical conglomerate, second perhaps to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) by value, and second to none in the field of biotechnology.
Disclosure: Author has no stake in any company stock mentioned.
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