Biotech companies continue to be well represented on the sixth annual survey of the top employers in the biotech, pharma and biopharma industries by the journal Science. Boehringer Ingelheim, of Ingelheim, Germany, unseated South San Francisco's Genentech for the top spot in what the journal said was a "desperately close context," marking the first time Genentech wasn't No. 1.

The survey, of more than 6,300 industry insiders, was tabulated by Senn-Delaney Culture "Diagnostics & Measurement." Respondents were asked to rank companies by qualities such as innovative leadership, treating employees with respect, social responsibility and employee loyalty.

Below is the finishing order, with the number at left being the 2007 ranking, and the number in parenthesis showing the company's 2006 ranking:

1 (2) Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany)

2 (1) Genentech Inc. (South San Francisco)

3 (4) Amgen (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)

4 (17) Schering-Plough Corp. (Kenilworth, N.J.)

5 (6) Genzyme Corp. (Cambridge, Mass.)

6 (9) Novartis (Basel, Switzerland)

7 - DuPont (Wilmington, Del.)

8 - Monsanto (Creve Couer, Mo.)

9 (5) AstraZeneca PLC (London)

10 (7) Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, N.J.)

11 (8) Eli Lily and Co. (Indianapolis)

12 (10) GlaxoSmithKline (London)

13 - Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, Mass.)

14 (16) Merck & Co., Inc. (Whitehouse Station, N.J.)

15 (11) Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Collegeville, Pa.)

16 - Gilead (Foster City, Calif.)

17 (13) Biogen Idec (Cambridge, Mass.)

18 (3) Roche Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)

19 (18) Abbott (Abbott Park, Ill.)

20 (20) Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (New York).