Merck and Novartis Top Drug-approval Rankings

Swiss drugmaker Novartis racked up 17 new drug approvals from 2000 to 2010. But over the past 60 years, the company has accounted for only 16.

Matthew Herper at Forbes released two new rankings for drugmakers. Drugmakers sorted by the number of new meds they've produced over the past 60 years, and then sorted by the number they've launched in the past decade.

Novartis tops the short-term list and lies near the bottom of the longer one (more on that in a minute, though). And Merck tops the long-term list and comes in 4th on the 10-year list.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis racked up 17 new drug approvals from 2000 to 2010. But over the past 60 years, the company has accounted for only 16--but together with its predecessors, Ciba and Sandoz, got 49 drugs approved.

Over the decade ending in 2010, Pfizer c