Health stocks: Top pharmaceutical companies to invest in

See how to invest in the best health and pharma shares in the UK, and what you need to know before investing.

Healthcare stocks can include companies that produce medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, as well as medical services and health technology. These have traditionally offered strong earning potential for investors. More recently, investors have been interested in the companies leading the way in the worldwide coronavirus vaccine rollout, which includes some UK companies. See how to buy health shares in the UK and compare some of the top medical and health stocks below.

How to invest in health stocks

  1. Choose stocks to invest in. You can check out some health stocks below and find out more about them.
  2. Choose an investment platform. You’ll need one that lets you invest in the stock exchange that your chosen stocks are listed on.
  3. Sign up and fund your account. You might need to wait for your account to be verified and for your funds to hit the account before you can begin.
  4. Find your chosen stock. You can search its name or ticker.
  5. Review and buy. It’s as easy as that!

UK health stocks

If you’re interested in health stocks that are in the UK, there are several that you can invest in, such as:

Investing in global health stocks from the UK

We’ve listed some examples of health stocks with more information about them, and you can see an A-Z list below if you’ve got any in mind.

Astrazenca logo

Astrazenca (AZN.US)

An Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotech company, AstraZeneca created and released one of the world’s most successful coronavirus vaccines in late 2020, and is one of the key pillars of the UK’s vaccination programme.

Buy Astrazenca shares

Pfizer logo

Pfizer (PFE.US)

Pfizer is an American pharmaceutical company and part of the Fortune 500 list of the largest companies in the US. Like AstraZeneca, Pfizer delivered a coronavirus vaccine that has been used extensively in the UK and US vaccine programme.

Buy Pfizer shares

GlaxoSmithKline logo

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.LSE)

GSK is a British pharmaceutical company based in Brentford, and is one of the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) by market capitalisation.

Buy GlaxoSmithKline shares

More than £5 trillion is spent on healthcare globally each year, and the healthcare sector represents a good opportunity for investors looking to grow their portfolio, both in terms of risk and diversification. Health stocks are also not as cyclical as other sectors, meaning they might be better insulated against wider economic downturns.

The coronavirus pandemic has further highlighted the important role of the medical and big pharma sectors, and attracted the attention of investors looking to benefit from the growing demand and focus on companies in the medical and healthcare industry.

The risks of health stocks

There are a lot of rules and regulations in the health industry, and you run the risk of the competitors of companies that you’re invested in developing vaccines or medicines first. On top of this, vaccines and medicines go through many stages of testing before they’re approved, and need to fit specific guidelines for each country that they’re created for.

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


Bottom line

Healthcare stocks can be rewarding, but can also have slow growth during long processes, such as while developing or testing products. You might notice these stocks grow rapidly when products are approved in certain countries or when these companies see advances in their technology or breakthroughs in research and development.

Browse all health stock guides

A
  • Abbott Laboratories
  • AbbVie
  • Abcam
  • Abeona Therapeutics
  • ABIOMED
  • Acacia Diversified Holdings
  • Acadia Healthcare Company
  • ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
  • Acasti Pharma
  • Acceleron Pharma
  • AcelRx Pharmaceuticals
  • Acer Therapeutics
  • Achieve Life Sciences
  • Aclaris Therapeutics
  • Acorda Therapeutics
  • Acura Pharmaceuticals
  • Adagio Therapeutics
  • Adamas Pharmaceuticals
  • Adamis Pharmaceuticals
  • AdaptHealth
  • Adaptimmune Therapeutics
  • Adaptive Biotechnologies
  • Addus HomeCare
  • Adial Pharmaceuticals
  • Aditxt
  • ADM Tronics Unlimited
  • ADMA Biologics
  • Advanced Biomedical Technologies
  • Advanced Medical Solutions Group
  • Advanced Oncotherapy
  • Advaxis
  • Adverum Biotechnologies
  • Aeglea BioTherapeutics
  • Aeglea BioTherapeutics
  • Aerie Pharmaceuticals
  • Aerpio Pharmaceuticals
  • Aeterna Zentaris
  • Aethlon Medical
  • Agenus
  • AgeX Therapeutics
  • Agile Therapeutics
  • Agios Pharmaceuticals
  • Aida Pharmaceuticals
  • Aileron Therapeutics
  • Akebia Therapeutics
  • Akero Therapeutics
  • Albireo Pharma
  • Alcon
  • Aldeyra Therapeutics
  • Alector
  • Alexion Pharmaceuticals
  • Align Technology
  • Alimera Sciences
  • Alkermes
  • Allakos
  • Allena Pharmaceuticals
  • Allergy Therapeutics
  • Alliance Pharma
  • Allied Healthcare Products
  • Allogene Therapeutics
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
  • Alphatec Holdings
  • Alpine Immune Sciences
  • AMAG Pharmaceuticals
  • Amedisys
  • American BriVision (Holding)
  • American Medical Technologies
  • AmeriCann
  • AmerisourceBergen
  • Amgen
  • Amicus Therapeutics
  • AMN Healthcare Services
  • Amneal Pharmaceuticals
  • Amphastar Pharmaceuticals
  • Ampio Pharmaceuticals
  • AnaptysBio
  • Anavex Life Sciences
  • AngioDynamics
  • ANI Pharmaceuticals
  • Anika Therapeutics
  • Animalcare Group
  • Antares Pharma
  • Apellis Pharmaceuticals
  • Apollo Endosurgery
  • Apollo Medical Holdings
  • Applied Genetic Technologies
  • Applied Molecular Transport
  • Applied Therapeutics
  • Aprea Therapeutics
  • Aptevo Therapeutics
  • Aptose Biosciences
  • Aquestive Therapeutics
  • Aravive
  • Arbutus Biopharma
  • ARCA biopharma
  • Arcus Biosciences
  • Ardelyx
  • Arena Pharmaceuticals
  • Aridis Pharmaceuticals
  • Arix Bioscience
  • Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals
  • Arvinas
  • Asensus Surgical
  • Assembly Biosciences
  • AstraZeneca
  • Atara Biotherapeutics
  • Atea Pharmaceuticals
  • Athenex
  • Athersys
  • Atossa Therapeutics
  • Atreca
  • AtriCure
  • Atrion
  • aTyr Pharma
  • Aurora Cannabis
  • Avacta Group
  • Avanos Medical
  • Avenue Therapeutics
  • AVEO Pharmaceuticals
  • Avid Bioservices
  • Avinger
  • AVROBIO
  • Axcella Health
  • AxoGen
  • Axonics Modulation Technologies
  • Axsome Therapeutics
  • Ayala Pharmaceuticals
  • Aytu BioScience
  • AzurRx BioPharma
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    A
  • Abbott Laboratories
  • AbbVie
  • Abcam
  • Abeona Therapeutics
  • ABIOMED
  • Acacia Diversified Holdings
  • Acadia Healthcare Company
  • ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
  • Acasti Pharma
  • Acceleron Pharma
  • AcelRx Pharmaceuticals
  • Acer Therapeutics
  • Achieve Life Sciences
  • Aclaris Therapeutics
  • Acorda Therapeutics
  • Acura Pharmaceuticals
  • Adagio Therapeutics
  • Adamas Pharmaceuticals
  • Adamis Pharmaceuticals
  • AdaptHealth
  • Adaptimmune Therapeutics
  • Adaptive Biotechnologies
  • Addus HomeCare
  • Adial Pharmaceuticals
  • Aditxt
  • ADM Tronics Unlimited
  • ADMA Biologics
  • Advanced Biomedical Technologies
  • Advanced Medical Solutions Group
  • Advanced Oncotherapy
  • Advaxis
  • Adverum Biotechnologies
  • Aeglea BioTherapeutics
  • Aeglea BioTherapeutics
  • Aerie Pharmaceuticals
  • Aerpio Pharmaceuticals
  • Aeterna Zentaris
  • Aethlon Medical
  • Agenus
  • AgeX Therapeutics
  • Agile Therapeutics
  • Agios Pharmaceuticals
  • Aida Pharmaceuticals
  • Aileron Therapeutics
  • Akebia Therapeutics
  • Akero Therapeutics
  • Albireo Pharma
  • Alcon
  • Aldeyra Therapeutics
  • Alector
  • Alexion Pharmaceuticals
  • Align Technology
  • Alimera Sciences
  • Alkermes
  • Allakos
  • Allena Pharmaceuticals
  • Allergy Therapeutics
  • Alliance Pharma
  • Allied Healthcare Products
  • Allogene Therapeutics
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
  • Alphatec Holdings
  • Alpine Immune Sciences
  • AMAG Pharmaceuticals
  • Amedisys
  • American BriVision (Holding)
  • American Medical Technologies
  • AmeriCann
  • AmerisourceBergen
  • Amgen
  • Amicus Therapeutics
  • AMN Healthcare Services
  • Amneal Pharmaceuticals
  • Amphastar Pharmaceuticals
  • Ampio Pharmaceuticals
  • AnaptysBio
  • Anavex Life Sciences
  • AngioDynamics
  • ANI Pharmaceuticals
  • Anika Therapeutics
  • Animalcare Group
  • Antares Pharma
  • Apellis Pharmaceuticals
  • Apollo Endosurgery
  • Apollo Medical Holdings
  • Applied Genetic Technologies
  • Applied Molecular Transport
  • Applied Therapeutics
  • Aprea Therapeutics
  • Aptevo Therapeutics
  • Aptose Biosciences
  • Aquestive Therapeutics
  • Aravive
  • Arbutus Biopharma
  • ARCA biopharma
  • Arcus Biosciences
  • Ardelyx
  • Arena Pharmaceuticals
  • Aridis Pharmaceuticals
  • Arix Bioscience
  • Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals
  • Arvinas
  • Asensus Surgical
  • Assembly Biosciences
  • AstraZeneca
  • Atara Biotherapeutics
  • Atea Pharmaceuticals
  • Athenex
  • Athersys
  • Atossa Therapeutics
  • Atreca
  • AtriCure
  • Atrion
  • aTyr Pharma
  • Aurora Cannabis
  • Avacta Group
  • Avanos Medical
  • Avenue Therapeutics
  • AVEO Pharmaceuticals
  • Avid Bioservices
  • Avinger
  • AVROBIO
  • Axcella Health
  • AxoGen
  • Axonics Modulation Technologies
  • Axsome Therapeutics
  • Ayala Pharmaceuticals
  • Aytu BioScience
  • AzurRx BioPharma
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    Zoe was a senior writer at Finder specialising in investment and banking, and during this time, she joined the Women in FinTech Powerlist 2022. She is currently a senior money writer at Be Clever With Your Cash. Zoe has a BA in English literature and a Diploma for Financial Advisers. She has several years of experience in writing about all things personal finance. Zoe has a particular love for spreadsheets, having also worked as a management accountant. In her spare time, you’ll find Zoe skating at her local ice rink. See full bio

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