By: Donagh Fitzgerald and Claire Wilson. Last Updated: Jan 2026

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What are the best pharma companies to work for? (according to their employees)

There are several metrics you can use to decide the “best” company. What employees say should definitely be considered.

We’ve taken employee submitted scores from two different websites and combined them to create a star rating system for Ireland’s pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies.

To be included in this list, a company had to have a review score on both of the websites.

To simplify this article, we’ve listed out the companies in groupings. As with all previous years, no company scored above 4.5 so our highest ranked group is the 4-star group, who all scored 4.0 - 4.49 out of 5.

Image of 4 gold stars

4-Star Companies (scoring 4.00 - 4.49)

  • GE Healthcare - approx 750 employees in Cork
  • Pfizer - approx 5000 employees across Cork, Dublin and Kildare
  • Boston Scientific - approx 6500 employees across Cork, Galway and Tipperary
  • Stryker - approx 5050 employees across Cork and Limerick
  • Novo Nordisk - approx 450 employees in Roscommon and Dublin
  • MSD - approx 2800 employees across Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Meath and Tipperary
  • BD Medical - approx 1300 employees across Dublin, Limerick, Louth and Wexford
  • Lilly - approx 2500 employees in Cork (new plant opening in Limerick)
  • Sanofi - approx 800 employees across Dublin and Waterford
image of 3 and a half gold stars

3.5-Star Companies (scoring 3.5 - 3.99)

  • Johnson & Johnson - approx 5000 employees in Cork, Galway and Limerick
  • Servier - approx 450 employees in Wicklow
  • Ipsen - approx 175 employees in Dublin
  • Harmac Medical Products - approx 360 employees in Roscommon
  • Alexion (AstraZeneca) - approx 750 employees across Dublin and Roscommon
  • Merck - approx 800 employees across Cork and Wicklow
  • TE Connectivity - approx 1300 employees in Galway
  • Takeda - approx 900 employees across Dublin and Wicklow
  • Abbott - approx 5000 employees across Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Kilkenny, Longford, Sligo and Tipperary
  • Gilead Sciences - approx 550 employees across Dublin and Cork
  • Edwards Lifesciences - approx 850 employees across Clare and Limerick
  • Baxter - approx 2000 employees across Dublin and Mayo
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) - approx 650 employees in Dublin
  • Novartis - approx 1000 employees in Dublin
  • Zoetis - approx 450 employees across Dublin, Offaly and Wicklow
  • Medtronic - approx 4000 employees across Dublin, Galway and Westmeath
  • Alcon - approx 700 employees in Cork
  • Amgen - approx 1250 employees across Dublin & Waterford
  • Astellas - approx 400 employees in Dublin and Kerry
  • Teleflex - approx 400 employees across Limerick and Westmeath
  • Viatris - approx 1600 employees across Cork, Dublin and Galway
  • Aerogen - approx 500 employees across Clare and Galway
  • BioMarin - approx 500 employees across Dublin & Cork
  • Jabil - approx 750 employees in Dublin and Waterford
  • Leo Pharma - approx 550 employees in Cork and Dublin
  • B.Braun - approx 140 employees across Dublin and Sligo
  • Niche Generics - approx 50 employees across Dublin and Tipperary
  • Bausch & Lomb - approx 1500 employees in Waterford
  • Teva - approx 650 employees in Waterford
  • Hovione - approx 200 employees in Cork
  • Haleon - approx 900 employees in Waterford
  • AbbVie - approx 2600 employees across Cork, Dublin, Mayo and Sligo
  • Cook Medical  - approx 800 employees in Limerick
  • Merit Medical - approx 1000 employees in Galway 
  • Aeire Pharmaceuticals - approx 70 employees in Westmeath
  • Almac - approx 4000 employees across Armagh, Louth and Westmeath 
Image of 3 gold stars

3-Star Companies (scoring 3.0 - 3.49)

  • Zimmer Biomet - approx 800 employees across Clare and Galway
  • West Pharma - approx 780 employees across Dublin and Waterford
  • Beckman Coulter - approx 550 employees in Clare
  • Regeneron - approx 1400 employees in Limerick
  • Surmodics - approx 60 employees in Galway
  • Bimeda - approx 80 employees in Dublin
  • ArcRoyal - approx 175 employees in Meath
  • Helsinn - approx 170 employees in Dublin
  • Sanmina - approx 200 employees in Cork
  • Siemens Healthineers - approx 450 employees in Dublin
  • WuXi - approx 440 employees in Louth
  • Goodman Medical - approx 140 employees in Galway
  • Integer - approx 1300 employees across Galway and Wexford
  • Chanelle Group - approx 730 in Galway
  • Charles River Laboratories - approx 170 employees in Mayo 

References

Scores were taken from Glassdoor and Indeed in Jan 2026

BTW, if you are interested in upskilling for a better job or a promotion in the Pharmaceutical or Medtech industries, or are considering a career change into this sector, check out our range of pharmaceutical courses.