Welcome to to our annual look at the biggest CEO paychecks in the pharma industry. The major trend in 2009 was the mega-merger, which helped propel former Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan to the top of this year's list. With the help of a $33 million golden handshake, Hassan bypassed perennial top dogs Bill Weldon (Johnson & Johnson) and Miles White (Abbott) as the highest-paid CEO in Pharma.
Novartis' Daniel Vasella moved up three places to the number four spot this year, but it will be his last appearance on our CEO pay list. Vasella stepped down as chief of Novartis in January, and was replaced by Joe Jimenez. To discover more details for yourself--or to find out what your boss is making--check out the report.
