Unilab, Inc. (Unilab), the leading and most-trusted pharmaceutical brand in the Philippines, has emerged as the highest-ranked company of ASEAN origin in TIME magazine and Statista’s Asia-Pacific’s Best Employers of 2027, placing 24th among 500 companies across the region.
The Campos-Hess-led Filipino pharmaceutical company scored 89.15 out of 100, outperforming other companies founded and headquartered in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including some of Southeast Asia’s largest conglomerates.
Unilab also led Philippine companies on the list, ahead of Ayala Corp., which ranked 32nd with a score of 88.07; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. at 44th; San Miguel Corp. at 55th; and Jollibee Foods Corp. at 89th.
Other Philippine companies included Del Monte Philippines at 105th, BDO Unibank at 164th, Philippine Airlines at 186th, Aboitiz Power at 196th and SM Investments Corp. at 206th.
The TIME-Statista inaugural ranking, announced globally on November 3, was based on an independent survey of more than 80,000 full-time and part-time employees across Asia-Pacific, using data gathered from 2024 to 2026. TIME and global data firm Statista evaluated an initial pool of more than 7,000 companies to identify the region’s 500 best employers.
Companies that employ at least 1,000 people in Asia-Pacific and maintain operations in at least two markets were covered by the study. The survey used independent online panels, with respondents identifying their employers through an open-ended question designed to minimize company influence over participant selection.
Employees rated — on a scale of 0 to 10 — their willingness to recommend their current or former employers to family and friends. They also assessed other companies within their industries, indicating whether they would recommend them, would not recommend them, or had no opinion.
Statista combined these direct employee recommendations with indirect assessments of other employers, assigning greater weight to employees’ evaluations of their own workplaces. Companies were then given overall scores out of 100, with the 500 highest-scoring employers making the final list.
Unlike corporate rankings based on revenues, profitability or market capitalization, the TIME–Statista study focused on workplace reputation and employee recommendations.
Unilab was founded in 1945 by Jose Y. Campos and Mariano K. Tan as United Drug, a small corner drugstore in Binondo, Manila. The company celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025.
From its beginnings in pharmaceutical distribution, Unilab expanded into manufacturing and developed into one of Southeast Asia’s major pharmaceutical enterprises.
Unilab’s top ranking puts the Filipino company ahead of other ASEAN-origin enterprises in the regional employer ranking, reflecting its standing in an assessment centered on employee satisfaction and workplace reputation.
