By Liz Hollis and Erica Teichert
Welcome to our annual look at the biggest CEO in the pharma industry. Despite a year fraught with manufacturing issues and drug recalls, Johnson & Johnson CEO Bill Weldon takes the top spot, with $28.7 million in 2010 pay. And Novartis' Daniel Vasella grabs the number two spot thanks to a lucrative golden handshake.
Next year we'll have to say goodbye to a few familiar faces that are making their final appearance on this list. Pfizer's Jeff Kindler won't be back next year, nor will Vasella or Richard Clark of Merck. All of these CEOs will be replaced by new executives that will appear on the list. For example, Ian Read, Pfizer's new CEO, earned more than $17 million last year, even though he didn't become CEO until Dec. 5. George Scangos, formerly of Exelixis and now Biogen Idec CEO, was paid $9.4 million last year--and he didn't come on board until more than halfway through the year.
Others are waiting, too. Allergan's David Pyott ($12.7 million), Bristol-Myers Squibb's Lamberto Andreotti ($11.8 million) and Baxter's Robert Parkinson ($11.5 million) were close to making the list. Click here to get all the details on the top 10 highest paid biotech and pharma CEOs of 2010. Special Report