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Best-selling pharmaceuticals of 2023 reveal a shift in pharma landscape

By Brian Buntz | May 21, 2024

[Updated May 21, 2024.]

Young female scientist holding a red transparent pill with futuristic scientific air interface with chemical formulas and research data in the foreground

[Scanrail/Adobe Stock]

2023 may not go down as the brightest year for the pharma sector, but the entry of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (semaglutide) into the ranks of top-selling drugs like Keytruda, Dupixent, and Eliquis signals a new era in the treatment of metabolic disease. Novo Nordisk’s sales jumped by more than one-third in 2023. Obesity-focused Wegovy (semaglutide) and Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) also made it into the top 50. Additionally, in 2023, tirzepatide won FDA approval as an obesity treatment, and in March 2024, semaglutide won an expanded label for cardiovascular risk reduction.

The rise of metabolic disease drugs underscores the growing global burden of obesity and diabetes. With Ozempic’s sales reaching $13.9 billion in 2023, a 38% increase, GLP-1 therapies seem poised to play a significant role in treating metabolic disease.

In the chart below, bigger circles generally corresponds with more robust growth. Note the explosive sales growth of Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a GLP-1 receptor agonist that along with Zepbound (an obesity-targeted version of the same drug), in the chart below. Note: Mounjaro was launched in the middle of 2022 and only had sales data for two quarters. To normalize its representation, this visual extrapolated its 2022 full year sales by doubling the half-year sales figure. The growth rate and bubble size were calculated using this extrapolated 2022 sales value.

Sales figures in the chart are in millions of U.S.

While metabolic disease treatments made significant strides, oncology drugs continued to dominate the list of bestsellers. Keytruda, a strong-selling cancer immunotherapy since the mid-2010s, maintained its position as the highest-grossing drug with sales of $25 billion, a 19% increase from 2022. Other oncology treatments, such as Darzalex, Opdivo, and Tagrisso, also experienced growth.

It’s likely that the metabolic disease could soon overtake immunology as the second-largest sales category in the coming years. On a related note, AbbVie juggernaut Humira had a sales decrease of 32.2% compared to the previous year, thanks to biosimilar competition after Humira’s patent exclusivity expired.

Oncology and immunology continue to dominate the pharma landscape

The donut chart below provides a visual representation of 2023 drug sales by category for the top 50 drugs, highlighting the growing prominence of metabolic treatments while also demonstrating the continued dominance of oncology, which accounts for more than one-quarter of top-selling drug sales. Immunology makes up more than one-fifth.

Top 50 pharmaceuticals by sales in 2023

Note: Sales of drugs with more than one developer are added together (as in the case of the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty) unless one of those companies records the net sales for it, i.e., Dupixent. Data from companies’ respective annual reports.]

Drug Name Manufacturer(s) Sales 2023 (USD M) Sales 2022 (USD M) Growth Rate Indications
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) Merck $25,011 $20,937 19.46% Various cancers
Humira (adalimumab) AbbVie $14,404 $21,237 -32.17% Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis, and others
Ozempic (semaglutide) Novo Nordisk $13,892 $10,060 38.09% Type 2 diabetes
Eliquis Bristol Myers Squibb $12,206 $11,789 3.54% Anticoagulant
Dupixent (dupilumab)* Sanofi $11,590 $8,736 32.67% Atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, prurigo nodularis, eosinophilic esophagitis
Biktarvy (bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide) Gilead Sciences, Inc. $11,850 $10,390 14.05% HIV-1 infection
Comirnaty (tozinameran) Pfizer, BioNTech $15,305 $55,913 -72.63% COVID-19 vaccination
Stelara (ustekinumab) Johnson & Johnson $10,858 $9,723 11.67% Plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis
Darzalex (daratumumab) & Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) Johnson & Johnson $9,744 $7,977 22.15% Multiple myeloma
Eylea (aflibercept) Regeneron, Bayer $12,876 $13,031 -1.19% Neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
Opdivo (nivolumab) Bristol-Myers Squibb $9,009 $8,249 9.21% Various cancers
Trikafta/Kaftrio Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $8,945 $7,687 16.37% Cystic fibrosis
Gardasil/Gardasil 9 Merck $8,886 $6,897 28.84% Human Papillomavirus prevention
JARDIANCE family Boehringer Ingelheim $8,120 $6,415 26.58% Type-2 diabetes, chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease
Skyrizi (risankizumab-rzaa) AbbVie $7,763 $5,165 50.30% Plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease
Invega Sustenna/Xeplion/Invega Trinza/Trevicta Johnson & Johnson $7,140 $4,140 72.46% Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder
Trulicity (dulaglutide) Eli Lilly and Company $7,133 $7,440 -4.13% Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular risk reduction
Eliquis (apixaban) Pfizer $6,747 $6,480 4.12% Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism
Spikevax Moderna $6,700 $18,470 -63.72% COVID-19 vaccine
Prevnar family (pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine) Pfizer $6,440 $6,337 1.63% Pneumonia, invasive disease, and otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae
Revlimid (lenalidomide) Bristol-Myers Squibb $6,097 $9,978 -38.90% Multiple myeloma, Lymphoma, Myelodysplastic syndromes
Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) Novartis $6,035 $4,644 29.95% Chronic heart failure, hypertension
Farxiga/Forxiga (dapagliflozin) AstraZeneca $5,997 $4,381 36.89% Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Failure, Chronic Kidney Disease
Tagrisso (osimertinib) AstraZeneca $5,799 $5,444 6.52% Early-stage EGFRm NSCLC, advanced EGFRm NSCLC
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) Roche $5,750 $5,730 5.97% Relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis
XTANDI Daiichi Sankyo $5,341 $4,705 13.51% Prostate cancer
Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Eli Lilly and Company $5,163 $483 968.94% Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Cosentyx (secukinumab) Novartis $4,980 $4,788 4.01% Psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa
Ibrance (palbociclib) Pfizer $4,753 $5,120 -7.17% HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer
PRIVIGEN CSL Behring $4,675 $4,024 16.18% Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human), 10% Liquid
Xarelto (rivaroxaban) Bayer $4,414 $4,757 -7.21% Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, treatment and prevention of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted) GSK $4,287 $3,659 17.16% Herpes zoster (shingles)
Imfinzi (durvalumab) AstraZeneca $4,237 $2,784 52.19% Lung cancer, Bladder cancer, Liver cancer
Rinvoq (upadacitinib) AbbVie $3,969 $2,522 57.38% Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, and others
Verzenio (abemaciclib) Eli Lilly and Company $3,863 $2,484 55.52% HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer, early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence
OFEV Boehringer Ingelheim $3,861 $3,550 8.77% Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, SSc-ILD, PF-ILD
Hemlibra (emicizumab-kxwh) Roche $3,726 $3,651 2.05% Haemophilia A
Enbrel (etanercept) Amgen $3,697 $4,117 -10.20% Rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis
Prolia (denosumab) Amgen $3,670 $3,280 11.89% Osteoporosis, low bone mass
Orencia (abatacept) Bristol Myers Squibb $3,601 $3,464 3.95% Rheumatoid arthritis
Imbruvica (ibrutinib) AbbVie & Janssen $3,596 $8,352 -56.94% Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and others
Pomalyst/Imnovid Bristol Myers Squibb $3,441 $3,497 -1.60% Multiple myeloma
Tecentriq (atezolizumab) Roche $3,414 $3,533 2.40% Urothelial carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer
Perjeta (pertuzumab) Roche $3,385 $3,916 -5.71% HER2-positive breast cancer
Vyndaqel family (tafamidis meglumine, tafamidis) Pfizer $3,321 $2,447 35.72% ATTR-CM and polyneuropathy
Wegovy (semaglutide) Novo Nordisk $3,321 $874 279.98% Obesity
Tremfya (guselkumab) Johnson & Johnson $3,147 $2,668 17.95% Moderate to severe plaque psoriasis
Botox Therapeutic (onabotulinumtoxinA) AbbVie $2,991 $2,719 10.00% Chronic migraine, overactive bladder, spasticity, cervical dystonia, and others

*Note: For products with more than one manufacturer, sales figures have been combined. In the case of Dupixent, where Sanofi reports total net sales and Regeneron reports its share, only Sanofi’s net sales figure is used.


Filed Under: Drug Discovery, Immunology, Infectious Disease, Oncology
Tagged With: 2023 trends, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Biktarvy, biopharma, biotech, blood disorders, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, cancer, Cardiovascular, Comirnaty, Daiichi Sankyo, Darzalex, Diabetes, Dupixent, Eli Lilly and Company, Eliquis, Entresto, Eylea, Gilead Sciences, Humira, Immunology, immunotherapy, Johnson & Johnson, Keytruda, Merck, neurology, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, obesity, Ocrevus, oncology, Opdivo, Ozempic, Pfizer, pharmaceuticals, Prevnar, R&D, Regeneron, Revlimid, Roche, Sanofi, Skyrizi, Stelara, Trulicity, Xarelto
 

About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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