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The year 2015 has gone down in history as a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotech space with deals worth US $ 300 billion being announced. The highlight of the year was the Pfizer-Allergan mega-merger – the biggest-ever pharma transaction worth more than US $ 160 billion.
Pharma Letter tracked transactions through the year and found the number of deals exceeding US $1 billion at 30 in 2015, as compared to 26 in 2014 and 20 in 2013. In all, a total of 166 M&A deals were announced in 2015 (out of which some are yet to be completed), compared to 137 in 2014.
This week, PharmaCompass brings you a compilation of the top drugs of 2015 by sales revenue and growth.
Sofosbuvir – the outright winner of 2015
2015 was the year of Sofosbuvir – the revolutionary active ingredient used for the treatment of hepatitis. Together, through the sale of drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi, Sofosbuvir brought in sales of almost US $ 19 billion.
The PharmaCompass prediction that Harvoni (a combination of Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir; and used for the treatment of infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV) would become the best-selling drug ever in 2015 fell slightly short of expectations as its sales of US $ 13.864 billion were marginally less than AbbVie’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment – Humira.
Humira retained its place as the best-selling drug with US $ 14.012 billion in sales in 2015. However, with sales growth of US $ 11.737 billion in a single year, Harvoni is poised to become the best-selling drug by the end of 2016.
Top 20 Drugs by Sales
Here is PharmaCompass’ compilation of the best-selling drugs of 2015. This is based on information extracted from annual reports and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings of major pharmaceutical companies.
If you would like your own copy of all the information we’ve collected, email us at support@pharmacompass.com and we’ll send you an Excel version.
Click here to access all the 2015 data (Excel version available) for FREE!
|
|
Product |
Active Ingredient |
Main Therapeutic Indication |
Company |
2014 Revenue in Millions (USD) |
2015 Revenue in Millions (USD) |
2015 Sales Difference Millions (USD) |
||
|
1 |
Humira |
Adalimumab |
Immunology (Organ Transplant, Arthritis etc.) |
12,543 |
14,012 |
1,469 |
|||
|
2 |
Harvoni |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
2,127 |
13,864 |
11,737 |
||||
|
3 |
Enbrel |
Etanercept |
Immunology (Organ Transplant, Arthritis etc.) |
4,688 |
8,697 |
4009 |
|||
|
4 |
Remicade |
Infliximab |
Immunology (Organ Transplant, Arthritis etc.) |
6,868 |
8,355 |
1487 |
|||
|
5 |
MabThera/Rituxan |
Oncology |
5,659 |
7,115 |
1,456 |
||||
|
6 |
Lantus |
Diabetes |
6,978 |
7,029 |
51 |
||||
|
7 |
Avastin |
Oncology |
6,481 |
6,751 |
270 |
||||
|
8 |
Herceptin |
Oncology |
6,338 |
6,603 |
265 |
||||
|
9 |
Revlimid |
Blood Related Disorders |
4,980 |
5,801 |
821 |
||||
|
10 |
Sovaldi |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
10,283 |
5,276 |
(5,007) |
||||
|
11 |
Seretide / Advair |
Respiratory Disorders |
6,005 |
5,227 |
(778) |
||||
|
12 |
Crestor |
Cardiovascular |
5,512 |
5,017 |
(495) |
||||
|
13 |
Lyrica |
Neuroscience and Mental Health |
5,168 |
4,839 |
(329) |
||||
|
14 |
Neulasta |
Blood Related Disorders |
4,596 |
4,715 |
119 |
||||
|
15 |
Gleevec / Glivec |
Oncology |
4,746 |
4,658 |
(88) |
||||
|
16 |
Xarelto |
Anticoagulants |
3,369 |
4,345 |
976 |
||||
|
17 |
Copaxone |
Neuroscience and Mental Health |
4,237 |
4,023 |
(214) |
||||
|
18 |
Januvia |
Diabetes |
3,931 |
3,863 |
(68) |
||||
|
19 |
Abilify |
Neuroscience and Mental Health |
6,485 |
3,804 |
(2681) |
||||
|
20 |
Tecfidera |
Neuroscience and Mental Health |
2,909 |
3,638 |
729 |
||||
Click here to access all the 2015 data (Excel version available) for FREE!
A year of record FDA approvals
2015 was also the year when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 45 novel drugs, another all-time record high. In January this year, PharmaCompass had compiled a list of novel drugs approved by the FDA in 2015. We also extensively covered the new dosage forms of existing drugs approved in 2015. Do go through the article published on January 14, 2016, for more information.
PharmaCompass’ compilation of sales forecasts of novel drugs indicated a significant variation in estimates. However, in our view, drugs that saw highest sales growth in 2015 are likely to do well this year as well.
Top 20 drugs by sales growth (in USD, millions)
|
Product |
Active Ingredient |
Main Therapeutic Indication |
2014 Revenue in Millions (USD) |
2015 Revenue in Millions (USD) |
2015 Sales Difference Millions (USD) |
|
|
1 |
Harvoni |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
2,127 |
13,864 |
11,737 |
|
|
2 |
Viekira Pak |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
48 |
1,639 |
1,591 |
|
|
3 |
Humira |
Adalimumab |
Immunology (Organ Transplant, Arthritis etc.) |
12,543 |
14,012 |
1,469 |
|
4 |
Hepatits C Franchise |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
256 |
1,603 |
1,347 |
|
|
5 |
Imbruvica |
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia |
200 |
1,443 |
1,243 |
|
|
6 |
Cubicin |
Anti-bacterial |
25 |
1,127 |
1,102 |
|
|
7 |
Eliquis |
Anticoagulants |
774 |
1,860 |
1,086 |
|
|
8 |
Triumeq |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
- |
1,037 |
1,037 |
|
|
9 |
Xarelto |
Anticoagulants |
3,369 |
4,345 |
976 |
|
|
10 |
Opdivo |
Nivolumab |
Oncology |
6 |
942 |
936 |
|
11 |
Revlimid |
Blood Related Disorders |
4,980 |
5,801 |
821 |
|
|
12 |
Tecfidera |
Neuroscience and Mental Health |
2,909 |
3,638 |
729 |
|
|
13 |
Xtandi |
Oncology |
480 |
1,207 |
727 |
|
|
14 |
Ibrance |
Palbociclib |
Oncology |
- |
723 |
723 |
|
15 |
Invokana / Invokamet |
Type 2 diabetes |
586 |
1,308 |
722 |
|
|
16 |
Victoza |
Diabetes |
2,014 |
2,704 |
690 |
|
|
17 |
Stribild |
Cobicistat, Elvitegravir, Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate |
Infectious Diseases (HIV, Hepatitis etc.) |
1,197 |
1,825 |
628 |
|
18 |
Levemir |
Diabetes |
2,133 |
2,745 |
612 |
|
|
19 |
Votrient |
Oncology |
|
565 |
565 |
|
|
20 |
Perjeta |
Pertuzumab |
Oncology |
927 |
1459 |
532 |
Hepatitis C products, which had three of the four highest sales growths in 2015, clearly show the impact these revolutionary treatments will have on the global healthcare landscape in time to come. Cancer immunotherapy treatments, a new generation of blood thinners and novel diabetes treatments were some of the others which demonstrated stellar growth in 2015.
Vaccines from Pfizer and Sanofi also displayed tremendous sales growth although they have not been included in the compilation of drugs.
Click here to access all
the 2015 data (Excel version available) for FREE!
Sign Up, Stay Ahead
While some companies like Boehringer and Valeant are yet to release their annual reports. In order to stay informed, do sign up for the PharmaCompass Newsletter and you will receive updated information as it becomes available along with a lot more industry analysis.
Click here to access all the 2015 data (Excel version available) for FREE!
CORRECTION, April 12, 2016: An earlier version of this compilation did not account for cases where the same drug is sold by multiple companies (e.g. Enbrel, Remicade, Xarelto etc.). As an outcome, a re-ranking of the Top 20 Drugs by Sales and Sales Growth has been done.
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Image Credit : Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311 by U.S. Army is licensed under CC BY 2.0
“ The article is based on the information available in public and which the author believes to be true. The author is not disseminating any information, which the author believes or knows, is confidential or in conflict with the privacy of any person. The views expressed or information supplied through this article is mere opinion and observation of the author. The author does not intend to defame, insult or, cause loss or damage to anyone, in any manner, through this article.”
