Report: 2026 Patient Support Awards Name Leaders in Large, Small Pharma

Nuvera, an Inizio Engage brand, announced the winners of its 2026 Best-in-Class Patient Support Program Awards, with AbbVie, Sanofi and Regeneron, Pfizer and Genentech earning top spots across different therapeutic areas among large pharmaceutical companies.¹

The rankings come from Nuvera’s annual PURE Engagement research, which drew on feedback from more than 2,300 physicians and health care support staff.

Companies are evaluated in separate large and small-to-midsized peer groups to compare organizations of similar scale, ranking performance in oncology, neurology and immunology. For large companies, Nuvera evaluates immunology across rheumatology, dermatology, gastroenterology and respiratory. The winners will be recognized Nov. 20 at the Informa Patient Pathways Congress in Philadelphia.¹

“The strongest patient support programs are increasingly defined by how easy they make it for patients and health care providers to navigate an incredibly complex treatment journey,” said Jens Kulstad, head of PURE Engagement, in the announcement.¹

Which Companies Ranked Highest in 2026?

AbbVie took the top spot in three of the six large-pharma categories, and Sanofi/Regeneron led two, according to Nuvera. The large pharma rankings are:¹

• Oncology: Pfizer and Genentech tied for best-in-class, followed by Amgen and Lilly.
• Neurology: AbbVie, followed by Genentech and Novartis.
• Rheumatology: AbbVie, followed by Johnson & Johnson and Amgen.
• Dermatology: Sanofi/Regeneron, followed by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson.
• Gastroenterology: AbbVie, followed by Sanofi/Regeneron and Johnson & Johnson.
• Respiratory: Sanofi/Regeneron, followed by AstraZeneca and GSK.

Among small-to-midsized companies, Nuvera ranks a single immunology category rather than the four subcategories used for large companies. The small-to-midsized rankings are:¹

• Oncology: BeOne Medicines, followed by Daiichi Sankyo and Exelixis.
• Neurology: argenx, followed by TG Therapeutics and Alexion.
• Immunology: Galderma, followed by UCB and Vertex.

Which Winners Held Their Positions From 2025?

Several 2026 winners repeated as best-in-class from 2025. Pfizer retained its oncology distinction, this year sharing it with Genentech. AbbVie again earned top recognition in neurology, rheumatology and gastroenterology.¹

Sanofi and Regeneron’s program for Dupixent (dupilumab) defended the top position in both dermatology and respiratory.

“What is particularly notable is that several of this year’s winners have maintained their leadership positions year over year,” Kulstad noted.¹

How Does Nuvera Determine the Rankings?

Nuvera divides respondents into physicians and health care support staff, who rate manufacturers through two measures, the company shared in an email to Pharmaceutical Commerce.² In the unaided assessment, respondents name the companies they most and least prefer working with, and Nuvera scores each company on the difference between positive and negative feedback. In the aided assessment, each respondent rates four companies across patient support dimensions including program awareness, field team support, hub support, technology and ease of engagement.²

Nuvera combines the aided and unaided results across both respondent groups to rank companies. The research runs annually for each therapeutic area and covers only the U.S. market. PURE also collects feedback from patients and payers, but the award rankings rely solely on responses from physicians and health care support staff.²

Where Does AI Fit Into Patient Support?

Nuvera said AI has become a major focus of the PURE Engagement research as manufacturers weigh how emerging technologies could change patient support.¹ The research looks at how manufacturers use AI today and where health care providers, patients and industry leaders see the most future value. Opportunities cited range from automating administrative work and improving speed to answer to identifying patients at risk of access delays or treatment discontinuation and personalizing engagement.

Kulstad said that the company is “seeing digital solutions begin to reshape what best-in-class support can look like, creating opportunities to reduce administrative burden, accelerate access and make support more proactive and personalized without losing the human element that patients and health care providers continue to value.”¹

PURE Engagement also examines where human interaction remains essential and how manufacturers can balance automation against high-touch support, according to Nuvera.¹

A Pharmaceutical Commerce roundtable earlier this year examined how AI and digital tools are changing patient support delivery and pushing manufacturers to rethink which support functions to keep in-house versus outsource.

References

1. Nuvera. “2026 PURE Best-in-Class Patient Support Program Winners Announced.” Press release. Oct. 28, 2026.
2. Nuvera, an Inizio Engage brand. Email to Pharmaceutical Commerce. Oct. 28, 2026.