Based: United Kingdom
R&D budget: $157 million (€115M)
Change from 08: +3.8%
Income spent on R&D: 6.3%

The numbers say a lot about the animal health business, where Merial has been a leader for years. With an R&D budget of $157 million, the company devoted a relatively small 6.2 percent of its 2009 sales revenue toward research.

Caring for animals is an increasingly lucrative business--an industry that is growing at a steady five percent per year. The stable profit picture has helped drive consolidation in the business. That hit home for Merial this year as Merck and Sanofi-Aventis agreed to merge their animal biotech companies into one new joint venture dubbed Merial-Intervet. That combination is creating the world's largest animal health company, with an even bigger R&D budget.

Merck and Sanofi had originally operated Merial as a joint venture, but antitrust concerns forced Merck to divest its share for $4 billion. Merck promised to divest other assets in order to make this new joint venture a reality. With these kinds of returns, it's not hard to see why.