Humira continues to be top seller; top five drugs list gets a rejig

By PharmaCompass

2019-04-18

Impressions: 915 Article

AbbVie reported an increase in revenues from US$ 28.22 billion in 2017 to US$ 32.75 billion in 2018 as Humira continued its stellar performance and added another US$ 1.5 billion to its 2017 sales and emerged as a US$ 20 billion drug! Humira is sold by AbbVie and Eisai, and the two companies posted combined sales of US$ 20.47 billion.

Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis, which is also marketed by Pfizer, followed Humira and posted total sales of almost US$ 10 billion. In the top five drugs by sales, BMS’ immunotherapy treatment Opdivo, sold in partnership with Ono in Japan, took the fourth spot with total sales of US$ 7.57 billion.

The number three spot belonged to Celgene’s Revlimid, which reported total sales of US$ 9.69 billion. With BMS’ acquisition of Celgene, the firm will now have three of the top five best selling drugs in the world!

View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2018 (Free Excel Available)

However, the ranking will certainly undergo a change as Opdivo’s competitor — Merck’s Keytruda — continued to perform spectacularly. The drug almost doubled its 2017 sales and generated US$ 7.17 billion for the Kenilworth, US-based pharmaceutical company.

As biosimilars continued to grab market share in different geographies, Amgen’s Enbrel, which was the second highest selling drug on our list last year, saw a drop in revenues on account of lower demand and lower selling price. J&J’s best selling drug — Remicade — also saw a drop in sales and reported US$ 6.44 billion worth of sales, as compared to US$ 7.74 billion the previous year. Initial impacts of biosimilar entry in Europe and Japan were felt by Roche as sales of MabThera/Rituxan and Herceptin fell by US$ 1.29 billion (CHF 1.3 billion) during 2018.

View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2018 (Free Excel Available)

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