Innovation is the key

How do you define an innovative firm? It’s one that demonstrates creative disruption

HOW DO you define an innovative firm? If Forbes is anything to go by, it’s all about companies that demonstrate creative disruption. These firms include new players that come in, innovate and garner the attention of investors. If you look at Forbes’ sixth annual list of ‘The World’s Most Innovative Companies’, life sciences and biotechnology companies occupy half of the top 10 spots on the list. Also, nine of the top 10 companies on the list are US-based. So you can understand where investors are expecting the next surge in innovation to come from. These revolutionary firms are ranked based on ‘innovation premium’, the additional value investors place on the company above its enterprise value.

Tesla Motors

Marketcapasof May2016:$33.5bn Tesla Motors designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and electric powertrain components. Its products include electric vehicles such as Model S, Model X and Tesla Roadster. The company was founded by Jeffrey B Straubel, Elon Reeve Musk and Marc Tarpenning on July 1, 2003, and is headquartered in Palo Alto, US. Marketcapasof May2016:$51.9bn Salesforce.com provides enterprise cloud computing applications. It provides a comprehensive customer and collaboration relationship management service to businesses of all sizes and industries. It also provides a technology platform for customers and developers to build and run applications. The company has designed and developed its applications to be intuitive solutions that can be deployed, customised and integrated with other software applications. The company was founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff and Frank Dominguez in February 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Marketcapasof May2016:$42.4bn Regeneron Pharmaceuticals operates as a biopharmaceutical company. It discovers, invents, develops, manufactures and commercialises medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. The company markets medicines for eye diseases, colorectal cancer and a rare inflammatory condition. It also has product candidates in development stage in other areas of high unmet medical need, including hypercholesterolemia, oncology, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and atopic dermatitis. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was founded by Alferd G Gilman, Leonard S Schleifer and Eric M Shooter on January 8, 1988, and is headquartered in Tarrytown, US.

Incyte

Marketcapasof May2016:$14.4bn Incyte is ab io pharmaceutical company, which focuses on the discovery, development, formulation, manufacturing and commercial is at ion of proprietary therapeutic s to treat serious unmet medical needs, primarily oncology. Its product, Jakafi, is currently approved in the US for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk my e lo fibrosis and is in development as a potential treatment for other cancers. The company was founded by Roy A Whitfield in April 1991 and is headquartered in Wilmington, US.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Marketcapasof May2016:$35.8bn Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the innovation, development and commercialisation of life-transforming therapeutic products for treating patients with severe and ultra-rare disorders. It focuses on developing products for the treatment of diseases in the areas of hematology, nephrology, transplant rejection and neurology. Alexion Pharmaceuticals was founded by Joseph A Madri, David W Keiser, Stephen P Squinto and Leonard Bell in January 1992 and is headquartered in Cheshire, US.

Under Armour

Marketcapasof May2016:$16.2bn Under Armour engages in the development, marketing and distribution of branded performance apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and youth. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Latin America, Europe, West Asia and Africa. The company was founded by Kevin A Plank in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, US.

Monster Beverage

Market cap as of May 2016: $25 bn Monster Beverage is a holding company, which conducts its businesses through subsidiaries. It is involved in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of alternative beverages—non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve still water— and newage beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavoured sparkling beverages. The company operates through direct store delivery and warehouse segments. Monster Beverage was founded on April 25, 1990, and is headquartered in Corona, CA.

Unilever Indonesia

Marketcapasof May2016:$24.1bn Unilever is engaged in the production and marketing of fast-moving consumer goods in nutrition, hygiene and personal care categories. It operates through four segments: personal care, food, refreshment and home care. The personal care segment provides deodorants, skincare, hair care and oral care products. Its brands include Dove, Lux, Rexona, Sunsilk, Axe, Pond’s, Radox, Duschdas, Neutral, Suave, Clear, Lifebuoy and Vaseline. The food segment is engaged in the selling of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads. The refreshment segment sells ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products and nutritionally-enhanced staples. The home care segment markets and sells home care products such as powders and liquids, soap bars and cleaning products. Unilever was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Market cap as of May 2016:$21.4bn Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company that aims to discover, develop and commercialise medicines for people with serious diseases. In addition to its clinical development programmes focused on cystic fibrosis, it has more than a dozen other ongoing research programmes aimed at serious and life-threatening diseases. The company was founded by Joshua S Boger in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, US.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical

Market cap as of May2016:$15.2bn BioMarin Pharmaceutical engages in the development and commercial is at ion of innovativeserious diseases and medical conditions. It operates its business through th eb io pharmaceutical development and commercial is at ion segment. Its company’s products include Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme, Firdapse and VIMIZIM. It was founded on March 21, 1997, and is headquartered in Novato, US.

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