Money matters: Why we like digging deep into biopharma compensation

This is Post-Hoc, an Endpoints News newsletter that looks at the trends shaping the biopharma industry. We occasionally share our Post-Hoc stories on LinkedIn. You can also sign up to receive Post-Hoc in your inbox.

My favorite summer pastime is peeking into the pay packages of biopharma’s CEOs.

Every year, I dissect hundreds of proxy filings to find out how boards are paying the top executives at biotech and pharma companies. Inevitably, there are splashy figures that make you think, they made how much? But the numbers also tell you about the incentives executive teams are facing, and where the industry is headed.

Pfizer’s board, for instance, sent one of the most dramatic messages possible to its leadership. After taking in $8 million and $7.65 million cash bonuses in 2021 and 2022, CEO Albert Bourla got $0 for 2023 (as did the rest of the very top executives at the company).

The compensation committee’s rationale sheds light on Pfizer’s priorities. They acknowledged “positive performance against the pipeline and ESG goals,” for example getting women in 44.8% of VP-and-higher roles. But the company fell short on finances — 14% short of the board’s revenue target, 12% below a cash flow goal, and 41% below the target for adjusted diluted earnings per share.

At the end of the day, the CEO makes money when the company and the shareholders do. (And the shareholders haven’t done too well recently.) 

Pfizer is just one of the many stories tucked into this year’s series on company and employee pay. My colleague Kyle LaHucik lent a hand in compiling our first look at golden parachutes for companies that sold their business. And we’ve broken down by geography and company size which biopharmas pay the most (and least) to their median employees. 

I always get some fun feedback on these stories. One reader let me know he couldn’t help laughing at some of the “corporate speak” from the companies when they talk about these paydays. If you have opinions on pay — and I’m sure you do — let me know what I should be tackling next.

— Andy Dunn, senior biopharma correspondent

Read more of our biopharma compensation coverage here:

• Biopharma’s 20 highest-paid CEOs of 2023, earning $20M+ pay packages: The best-paid CEOs of 2023 fall largely into two groups: They’re either running some of the world’s biggest drugmakers, or they were given huge incentive packages in their first year on the job or as head of a newly-public company.
• Who pays the most (and least) in biopharma? We analyzed median pay at 177 companies: The typical biopharma worker made $199,048 last year, according to an Endpoints News annual analysis of pay trends.
• Ten biotech executives who reaped the biggest M&A windfalls, netting $40M+ exit packages: While M&A is typically a boon to the shareholders of an acquired startup, it can also be quite lucrative for the executives selling their business.