370 multinational firms at the heart of pharmacy in France

Pharmaceutical activity in France was highly globalised and concentrated in 370 multinationals, 290 of which foreign-owned. In 2012, they exported €41.4 billion in goods and services and imported for a sum of €38.8 billion, thus attaining a trade surplus of nearly €3 billion. They earned an amount close to the revenues from their overseas subsidiaries. French-controlled firms generated a large surplus trade balance for goods and services, unlike firms under foreign control. Beyond the divide according to nationality, three different economic models characterised these multinationals. A quarter of them were producing in France from their industrial subsidiaries for supply to all global markets. These included the largest national players. Another quarter incorporated mostly foreign industrial and commercial subsidiaries. These were producing on domestic soil while playing a major role in the goods trade, in terms of both import and export. Finally, half of these multinationals focused on selling on the domestic market: mainly importing, they produced and exported little. Affiliates of foreign groups for the great majority, they were more inclined to be small on domestic soil.