6 Drugs Sold For Nearly $120 Billion

The birth of "super blockbuster" drugs is often the result of factors such as clinical demand, market competition, corporate development and business strategies. The achievement of annual sales of 10 billion US dollars is a feat that is enough for any drug to shine in the annals of history. 

In the past two years, the global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia has seriously affected the normal activities of human beings and the development of the company's business, which has also added more difficulties to the growth of blockbuster drugs. But in the battle against the severe outbreak of COVID-19, the business of pharmaceutical companies can be both a victim and a beneficiary. Especially for some players with strong technical reserves and quick response, the targeted layout and development of products has increased their performance while meeting the needs of social medical care and medicine. What is even more shocking is that several models have emerged successfully. super blockbuster drug".

According to the financial reports disclosed by major pharmaceutical companies, there are 6 drugs with annual sales exceeding US$10 billion in 2021. Compared with 2020, 3 new models have been added, namely 2 mRNA vaccines Comirnaty, Spikevax, and small molecule drug Eliquis.

Drug name: Comirnaty

Company: Pfizer/BioNTech

Indications: New Coronary Pneumonia

Sales: $40.34 billion

Comirnaty, an mRNA vaccine co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, went through a record-breaking process from first-in-human trials to emergency use approval in less than 8 months. In December 2020, Comirnaty was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA for the first time, and was officially approved for marketing in August 2021.

Comirnaty will surpass Humira (adalimumab) with sales of US$40.34 billion in 2021, becoming the well-deserved global drug king, setting a sales myth in the history of medicine. Among them, BioNTech is responsible for the German market revenue of 3.56 billion US dollars, and Pfizer is responsible for other regions revenue of 36.78 billion US dollars. In addition, Pfizer expects the vaccine to generate $32 billion in revenue in 2022.

Drug name: adalimumab

Company: AbbVie

Indications: rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and other autoimmune diseases

Sales: $20.694 billion

Humira is a TNF-α monoclonal antibody. Since its launch in 2002, it has grown its market scale through continuous expansion of indications. Since 2013, it has won the crown of the drug king for many years. In 2021, it has achieved a small growth of 3.5%. The annual sales of a single drug exceeded 20 billion US dollars. Lilly has been listed for 19 years, and Humira has accumulated sales revenue of US$191.6 billion.

However, the drug's extended exclusivity period in the United States through patent strategies, negotiations, litigation and other means will also end in 2023, and the performance of this long-lasting legendary drug may also enter a downward channel. At present, 24 adalimumab biosimilars have been approved for marketing worldwide, of which 6 are in China, namely Chia Tai Tianqing, Junshi Bio, Henlius, Bio-Tech, Innovent and Hisun Industry.

Drug name: Spikevax

Company: Moderna

Indication: new crown infection

Sales: $17.675 billion

Spikevax is also an mRNA vaccine, developed by Moderna. Due to the rapid production and rapid customization of mRNA vaccines, Spikevax also achieved dazzling results of US$17.675 billion in this epidemic. Meanwhile, Moderna expects Spikevax revenue to reach $22 billion in 2022.

It is reported that Moderna’s revenue in 2020 is only $803 million, while the total revenue in 2021 is $18.5 billion, of which mRNA vaccines are $17.675 billion, indicating that Spikevax is currently its main source of income.

Drug name: Keytruda

Company: Merck & Co.

Indications: Melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, urothelial cancer, breast cancer, etc.

Sales: $17.186 billion

Keytruda is a PD1 monoclonal antibody developed by Merck. It was first launched in the United States in 2014 and launched in China in 2018. It has been approved for over 20 indications globally. Since its launch, since the sales of K drug surpassed that of BMS’ O drug in 2018, it has maintained a rapid growth trend, and has won the “throne” of PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibody sales.

In 2021, the annual sales of K medicine will reach as high as 17.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 20%. This is mainly because it continues to penetrate into key cancer types such as NSCLC, triple-negative breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and MSH-I, and occupies a large market advantage. transfer. In 2022, Merck expects Keytruda to exceed the $20 billion mark, and its core patents will expire in 2028.

Drug name: Revlimid

Company: BMS

Indications: multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome, mantle cell lymphoma, etc.

Sales: $12.821 billion

Revlimid is an oral immunomodulatory imide drug developed by Celgene. It was first listed in the United States in 2005 and entered the Chinese market in 2012. At present, the drug has been approved globally for 8 indications including multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. BMS acquired Celgene for $74 billion in 2019, along with lenalidomide. In addition, BeiGene owns the Greater China interest in the drug.

Since its launch, lenalidomide’s sales have been growing, and it began to enter the $10 billion drug club in 2019. In 2021, it achieved sales of $12.821 billion, an increase of nearly $1 billion over 2020. It is reported that the core patent of the product has expired in 2019, and most of the other patents will also expire in 2022. Based on this, BMS forecasts its 2022 sales of $9.5-$10 billion.

Drug name: Eliquis

Company: BMS/Pfizer

Indications: deep vein thrombosis, knee replacement, etc.

Sales: $10.762 billion

Eliquis is an oral anticoagulant jointly developed by Pfizer and BMS. In 2007, Pfizer acquired the rights to develop and commercialize apixaban for a $250 million down payment and $750 million in miles.

Apixaban was first approved in the European Union in May 2011, followed by Japan, China and the United States in December 2012. This is the third new-generation oral anticoagulant to be marketed after Boehringer Ingelheim Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) and Bayer/Johnson & Johnson Xarelto (rivaroxaban). Since its launch, apixaban has brought huge returns for Pfizer and BMS and has become its star product. 2021 has successfully entered the super blockbuster ranks, growing from $9.168 billion in 2020 to $10.762 billion.

Pfizer and BMS have been fighting generic drugs in recent years. In 2017, they launched patent infringement lawsuits against 25 generic drug companies that had submitted marketing applications to the FDA. In August of the same year, the USPTO granted Eliquis a patent for a key composition, extending its protection from February 2023 to November 2026. In addition, another formulation patent for the anticoagulant drug expires in 2031.

In China, the compound patent for apixaban will expire on September 17, 2022. At present, there are 22 generic drugs on the market in China, of which the first generic drug belongs to Dongyang Sunshine.