What makes a drug a success? Is it a great ad campaign, or promotions from doctors? Does the drug address a much-needed area of medicine, or treat a disease in an exceptional way with few side effects? Regardless of what makes a drug take off, the way to measure its overall success is hard to repute: sales.
GEN updates their list of the best-selling drugs of the 21st century with the top 20 best-selling prescription drugs worldwide of 2012, based on sales figures released by biopharma companies in press announcements, annual reports, and conference calls during 2012 and 2011. Drugs are ranked by 2012 sales. CER denotes “constant exchange rate.”
#20. Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate)
Drug maker: Gilead Sciences
Indication(s): HIV-1 infection in patients aged 12 years and older, in combination with other anti-HIV-1 medicines; also used in pre-exposure prophylaxis with safer sex practices to reduce HIV-1 risk in men who have sex with men at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV-1 and the other does not
2012 sales: $3.181 billion
2011 sales: $2.875 billion
% Change: 10.6%
Q4 2012 sales: $832 million, up 11.5% from $746 million in Q4 2011
#19. Symbicort (budesonide and formoterol)
Drug maker: AstraZeneca
Indication(s): Asthma deemed untreatable via long-term asthma control medicine, or deemed sufficiently severe, in patients aged 12 years and older; COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, in adults
2012 sales: $3.194 billion
2011 sales: $3.148 billion
% Change: 5% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $891 million, up 8% from $839 million in Q4 2011
#18. Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir)
Drug maker: Gilead Sciences
Indication(s): HIV-1 infection in patients aged 12 years and older who weigh at least 40 kg (88 lbs)
2012 sales: $3.574 billion
2011 sales: $3.225 billion
% Change: 10.8%
Q4 2012 sales: $917 million, up 6.3% from $863 million in Q4 2011
#17. Singulair (montelukast)
Drug maker: Merck & Co.
Indication(s): Chronic asthma in patients aged 12 months and older; acute prevention of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in patients aged 6 years and older; allergic rhinitis; seasonal allergic rhinitis in patients aged 2 years and older; and perennial allergic rhinitis in patients 6 months of age and older
2012 sales: $3.853 billion
2011 sales: $5.479 billion
% Change: -29.7%
Q4 2012 sales: $480 million, down 67.1% from $1.461 billion in Q4 2011
#16. Nexium (esomeprazole)
Drug maker: AstraZeneca
Indication(s): Four- to eight-week treatment of erosive esophagitis; maintenance of healing of erosive esophagitis; Four- to eight-week treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD; NSAID-associated gastric ulcers in at-risk patients, such as adults over age 60, or with a medical history of such ulcers
2012 sales: $3.944 billion
2011 sales: $4.429 billion
% Change: -10% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.047 billion, down 1% at CER from $1.067 billion
#15. Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium)
Drug maker: Pfizer
Indication(s): LDL cholesterol and triglyceride reduction in blood as adjunct therapy to diet; reduction of risks for chest pain, stroke, heart attack, or heart and blood vessel problems in people who have certain risk factors
2012 sales: $3.948 billion
2011 sales: $9.577 billion
% Change: -58.8%
Q4 2012 sales: $584 million, down 70.8% from $1.999 billion in 2011
#14. Januvia (sitagliptin)
Drug maker: Merck & Co.
Indication(s): Once-daily type 2 diabetes treatment
2012 sales: $4.086 billion
2011 sales: $3.324 billion
% Change: 22.9%
Q4 2012 sales: $1.134 billion, up 18.1% from $960 million in Q4 2011
#13. Lyrica (pregabalin)
Drug maker: Pfizer
Indication(s): Fibromyalgia, diabetic nerve pain, spinal cord injury nerve pain, and pain after shingles
2012 sales: $4.158 billion
2011 sales: $3.693 billion
% change: 12.6%
Q4 2012 sales: $1.132 billion, up 13.4% from $998 million in Q4 2011
#12. Neulasta (pegfilgrastim)
Drug maker: Amgen1
Indication(s): Neutropenia caused by cancer chemotherapy
2012 sales: $4.092 billion
2011 sales: $3.952 billion
% Change: 3.5%
Q4 2012 sales: $994 million, down 0.4% from $998 million in Q4 2012
#11. Plavix (clopidogrel)
Drug maker: Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb
Indication(s): Acute coronary syndrome, recent myocardial infarction, recent stroke, or established peripheral arterial disease
2012 sales: $5.318 billion—$2.771 billion (Sanofi; €2.066 billion) + $2.547 billion (BMS)2
2011 sales: $9.823 billion—$2.736 billion (Sanofi; €2.040 billion) + $7.087 billion (BMS)2
% change: -45.9%
Q4 2012 sales: $723.1 million—$674.1 million (Sanofi; €503 million) + $49 million (BMS) in Q4 2012. Down 69.6% from $2.381 billion—$708.5 million (Sanofi; €529 million) plus $1.672 billion (BMS) in Q4 20112
#10. Cymbalta (duloxetine)
Drug maker: Eli Lilly
Indication(s): Major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia; management of chronic musculoskeletal pain due to chronic osteoarthritis pain and chronic low back pain
2012 sales: $4.994 billion
2011 sales: $4.161 billion
% change: 20.0%
Q4 2012 sales: $1.420 billion, up 20.3% from $1.181 billion in Q4 2011
#9. Avastin (bevacizumab)
Drug maker: Roche
Indication(s): Metastatic colorectal cancer (colon cancer), non–small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma & metastatic kidney
2012 sales: $6.260 billion (CHF 5.764 billion)3
2011 sales: $5.747 billion (CHF 5.292 billion)3
% Change: 6% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.580 billion (CHF 1.455 billion), up 7.8% from $1.466 billion (CHF 1.350 billion) in Q4 20113
#8. Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium)
Drug maker: AstraZeneca
Indication(s): Reduction of Total-C, LDL-C, ApoB, non-HDL-C, and triglycerides in the blood, as an adjunct to diet
2012 sales: $6.253 billion
2011 sales: $6.622 billion
% Change: -4% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.622 billion, down 7% at CER from $1.771 billion in Q4 2011
#7. Herceptin (trastuzumab)
Drug maker: Roche
Indication(s): HER2-positive breast cancer and HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer
2012 sales: $6.397 billion (CHF 5.889 billion)4
2011 sales: $5.706 billion (CHF 5.253 billion)4
% Change: 11% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.583 billion (CHF 1.457 billion), up 8.1% from $1.464 billion (CHF 1.348 billion) in Q4 20114
#6. Lantus (insulin glargine)
Drug maker: Sanofi
Indication(s): Once daily treatment for diabetes
2012 sales: $6.648 billion (€4.960 billion)5
2011 sales: $5.249 billion (€3.916 billion)5
% Change: 19.3% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.789 billion (€1.335 billion), up 22.6% at CER from $1.413 billion (€1.054 billion) in 4Q 2011 at CER5
#5. Rituxan (rituximab, MabThera)
Drug maker: Roche
Indication(s): Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis
2012 sales: $7.285 billion (CHF 6.707 billion)6
2011 sales: $6.523 billion (CHF 6.005 billion)6
% Change: 9% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $1.856 billion (CHF 1.709 billion), up 7.6% from $1.725 billion (CHF 1.588 billion) in Q4 20116
#4. Advair (fluticasone and salmeterol; sold in some countries as Seretide)
Drug maker: GlaxoSmithKline
Indication(s): Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema
2012 sales: $7.904 billion (£5.046 billion)7
2011 sales: $7.928 billion (£5.061 billion)7
% Change: 1% at CER
Q4 2012 sales: $2.051 billion (£1.309 billion), down 1% at CER from $2.050 billion (£1.351 billion)7
#3. Enbrel (etanercept)
Drug maker: Amgen and Pfizer8
Indication(s): Moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis
2012 sales: $7.963 billion [$4.236 billion Amgen + $3.737 billion Pfizer]
2011 sales: $7.367 billion [$3.701 billion Amgen + $3.666 billion Pfizer]
% Change: 8%
Q4 2012 sales: $2.118 billion, up 13% from $1.870 billion in Q4 2011
[2012: $1.161 billion Amgen + 0.957 billion Pfizer]
[2011: $0.945 billion Amgen + 0.925 billion Pfizer]
#2. Remicade (infliximab)
Drug maker: Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co.
Indication(s): Moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in combination with methotrexate; Crohn’s Disease in children 6 years and older, and adults who have not responded well to other medicines; rheumatoid arthritis; ankylosing spondylitis; psoriatic arthritis; chronic, severe, extensive, and/or disabling plaque psoriasis in adults; moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in children 6 years and older and adults that have not responded well to other medicines
2012 sales: $8.215 billion [$6.139 billion J&J + $2.076 billion Merck & Co.]
2011 sales: $8.159 billion [$5.492 billion J&J + $2.667 billion Merck & Co.]
% Change: 0.7%
Q4 2012 sales: $2.053 billion, up 5.9% from $1.939 billion in Q4 2011
[2012: $1.504 billion J&J + $0.549 billion Merck & Co.]
[2011: $1.428 billion J&J + $0.511 billion Merck & Co.]
#1. Humira (adalimumab)
Drug maker: AbbVie9
Indication(s): Moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, moderate to severe Crohn’s disease; moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, moderate to severe polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis
2012 sales: $9.265 billion
2011 sales: $7.932 billion
% Change: 19.3%
Q4 2012 sales: $2.681 billion, up 31.1% from $2.178 billion in Q4 2011
Notes:
1 Also sold by Roche under the brand Neulastim. Roche did not disclose sales figures on Neulastim for 2012 or 2011.
2 Global sales are the sum of sales recorded by Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Sanofi sales figures converted to USD via XE (www.xe.com) on February 11, 2013.
3 Sales figures converted to USD via XE (www.xe.com) on February 11, 2013. Q4 figures not reported for each drug by Roche, but derived by subtracting January-September sales, which are reported by the company in its third-quarter results, from full-year sales. As a result, year-over-year comparisons for Q4 sales are as reported, not at CER.
4 Sales figures converted to USD via XE (www.xe.com) on February 11, 2013. Q4 figures not reported for each drug by Roche, but calculated by subtracting January-September sales, which are reported by the company in its third-quarter results, from full-year sales. As a result, year-over-year comparisons for Q4 sales are as reported, not at CER.
5 Sales figures converted to USD via www.xe.com on Februrary 11, 2013.
6 Sales figures converted to USD via XE (www.xe.com) on February 11, 2013. Q4 figures not reported for each drug by Roche, but derived by subtracting January-September sales, which are reported by the company in its third-quarter results, from full-year sales.
7 Sales figures converted to USD via XE (www.xe.com) on February 11, 2013.
8 Pfizer does not furnish individual sales figures for Enbrel in the U.S. or Canada, but combines them in a category called “Alliance revenues” which also includes sales of Aricept, Exforge, Rebif, and Spiriva.
9 Company spun out January 2, 2013, from Abbott Laboratories, whose portfolio included Humira during 2011 and 2012.
