Newsroom / Healthcare & Pharma
Press releaseFull report
Press release · WCRC Intelligence Unit · Healthcare & Pharma · Most Powerful Brands 2026

Eli Lilly leads WCRC's 2026 healthcare table as weight-loss medicines reshape pharma

A WCRC analysis of 11 healthcare and pharmaceutical brands across its America, UK and Europe Most Powerful 100 rankings finds Britain with the most names and obesity drugs driving the fastest growth.

By WCRC Intelligence Unit · Published 13 November 2026 · For immediate release
Healthcare & Pharma: WCRC Most Powerful Brands 2026 industry analysis cover

13 November 2026. Eli Lilly is the most powerful healthcare brand in WCRC's 2026 rankings, with a WCRC Power Score of 73.52. It ranks #46 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026.

The analysis, published today by the WCRC Intelligence Unit, covers 11 pharmaceutical, consumer health, medical technology and healthcare brands ranked in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026, the UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 and Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026. No healthcare brand is in the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026.

AstraZeneca (73.28, #5 in the UK) and GSK (71.88, #7) follow Lilly, ahead of Johnson & Johnson (71.60) and Novo Nordisk (71.44, #39 in Europe).

Weight-loss medicines are driving the industry. Eli Lilly's revenue rose 44.7% to $65.2bn in FY2025, as per company filings, the fastest growth of any brand in this analysis. Pfizer's revenue fell 1.7%.

The UK places five healthcare brands in its Most Powerful 100, more than America (3) or Europe (3).

“Healthcare is the one industry where brand power follows the science. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have changed how the world treats obesity, and their brands have grown with it. Yet no healthcare company yet reaches the World's Most Powerful 100, which shows how far trust in medicine still lags trust in everyday brands.”

WCRC Intelligence Unit

The leaders in each ranking

  • US Most Powerful 100Eli Lilly #46 · 73.52
  • UK Most Powerful 100AstraZeneca #5 · 73.28
  • Europe Most Powerful 100Novo Nordisk #39 · 71.44

Read the full report: all 11 brands

Notes to editors

  • The analysis covers America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (3 brands); UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (5 brands); Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (3 brands).
  • Revenue figures are as per company filings for the latest available financial year.
  • Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for these rankings.
  • Ranked brands may licence their WCRC badge for marketing use. Contact consulting@wcrcint.com.

About WCRC. WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting) is an independent research and consulting organisation. It publishes brand rankings including the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, regional and national Most Powerful 100 Brands rankings, and national Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings, through its sites wcrcint.com, wcrcleaders.com and mostvaluablebrands.com. The WCRC Intelligence Unit publishes research briefings and industry analysis.

Media contact. WCRC Intelligence Unit, consulting@wcrcint.com

###

Work with WCRC

Want to go deeper?

The WCRC Business Intelligence Unit can take you through the research behind this analysis and what it means for your brand, your market or your story.

Contact consulting@wcrcint.com

Disclaimers

  1. Who was considered. Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for the underlying rankings. Brands that do not publish their financials have not been assessed or ranked. Not being in this analysis says nothing about a brand's quality.
  2. Source of every fact. This analysis uses only the facts published in WCRC's 2026 rankings named on this page, each checked twice against independent public sources. Scores, ranks and facts are as published in those rankings.
  3. Comparing scores. Brands from different rankings in the same family share one scoring method, so their scores can be read side by side. Scores marked provisional are WCRC desk assessments awaiting validation by the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit.
  4. Independent opinion. This analysis is WCRC's independent research and opinion, based on publicly available information as of November 2026. It is not an endorsement of any brand.
  5. Not a valuation or advice. Scores measure brand strength. They are not a financial valuation, and nothing here is investment, financial or purchasing advice.
  6. Revenue. Revenue is shown as per company filings for the latest available financial year. Where only group revenue is published, the group figure is shown and labelled. WCRC has not audited any figure.
  7. Trademarks. Brand names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here for identification only. Their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by WCRC.
  8. Use of the badge. Ranked brands may use their WCRC badge only as provided, unaltered and linked to their ranking page. Any other use of the WCRC name, badge or data needs WCRC's written permission.
  9. Rights and AI. © 2026 WCRC. All rights reserved. WCRC's scoring methods are proprietary. Copying, text and data mining, and use of this content to train artificial intelligence models are not permitted without written permission; WCRC expressly reserves these rights, including under Article 4 of EU Directive 2019/790.
  10. Corrections. To report an error or ask for a review, write to consulting@wcrcint.com. Corrections are made promptly.