2018 Top 10 Best-Selling Oncology Drugs and Global Market Outlook: Projected $200 Billion in Annual Sales by 2022

In 1997, the anticancer drug paclitaxel became the first “blockbuster,” with sales exceeding $1 billion. Two decades later, according to a report released last year by IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, the average annual cost of a cancer drug launched in 2017 exceeded $150,000, compared with an average annual cost of $79,000 for new cancer drugs introduced in 2013.

In its report, *Global Oncology Drug Trends 2018*, IQVIA noted that U.S. spending on cancer treatment has doubled since 2012, reaching nearly $50 billion in 2017, while the total cost of oncology drugs in the rest of the world amounted to $60 billion. Two-thirds of the growth in U.S. cancer drug sales were driven by therapies launched in the previous five years, with 14 new cancer treatments introduced in the country in 2017 alone.

What is even more thought-provoking is that IQVIA predicts that, at an annual growth rate of 12%–15%, U.S. cancer drug sales will double again by 2022, reaching $100 billion; sales outside the United States will be comparable. Thus, global cancer drug market sales will reach $200 billion within three years.

On April 16, the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), in collaboration with its Institute for Value-Based Medicine, hosted a panel discussion titled “Improving Quality in Oncology Care Amid an Evolving Value-Based Healthcare Landscape” in White Plains, New York, where participants highlighted the challenges associated with controlling cancer drug costs.

Manuel C. Perry, head of the Oncology Care Model program at Crystal Run Health, stated, “A monthly drug cost of $18,000 is unsustainable. To ensure patients have access to medications without financial burden, we and other clinics must overcome barriers to drug reimbursement; pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical companies need to adopt more effective strategies; and if the government fails to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, it should implement alternative drug cost-control measures. To change the current landscape, we must consider cost containment, value-based approaches, and the potential future implications.”

GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) compiled its list of the top 10 best-selling anticancer prescription drugs based on the 2018 sales or net sales figures disclosed by biopharmaceutical companies in press releases, annual reports, investor materials, and conference calls.

Among the 15 best-selling drugs of 2018 listed prior to GEN, more than half of the anticancer agents made it into this year’s top 10 best-selling anticancer prescription drugs. Revlimid, which ranked third on that list, tops the current ranking.

The drugs ranked 11th to 15th on the list and their corresponding manufacturers are: Velcade (bortezomib), co-developed by Takeda Pharmaceutical and Johnson & Johnson; Jakafi (also known as Jakavi) (ruxolitinib), co-developed by Incyte Corporation and Novartis; Perjeta (pertuzumab), developed by Genentech (a member of the Roche Group); Gardasil/Gardasil 9 (Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine), developed by Merck & Co.; and Zytiga (abiraterone acetate), developed by Johnson & Johnson. Last year, the annual sales of these drugs ranged from $2.274 billion to $3.498 billion.

Below are the details of the top 10 best-selling anticancer prescription drugs, listed by name, developer, drug type, sales figures for 2018 and 2017, and the percentage change between the two years. The total sales of anticancer drugs on the 2018 list amounted to $63.58 billion, representing a 17.5% increase from $54.126 billion in 2017. Among the seven companies that reported sales growth, six achieved double-digit growth.

Developed by Celgene Corporation

Drug Type: Thalidomide Analog

2018 Sales: $9.685 billion

2017 Sales: $8.187 billion

Percentage Change: 18.3%

Co-developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Ono)

Drug Type: Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) Antibody

2018 Sales: $7.57 billion (BMS: $6.735 billion, Ono: $835 million)

2017 Sales: $5.763 billion (BMS: $4.948 billion, Ono: $815 million)

Percentage Change: 31.4%

Developed by Merck & Co.

Drug Type: Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) Antibody

2018 Sales: $7.171 billion

2017 Sales: $3.809 billion

Percentage Change: 88.3%

Developed by Genentech

Drug Type: HER2/neu Receptor Antagonist

2018 Sales: $6.951 billion

2017 Sales: $6.983 billion

Percentage Change: -0.5%

Developed by Roche

Drug Type: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Antibody

2018 Sales: $6.822 billion

2017 Sales: $6.662 billion

Percentage Change: 2.4%

Co-developed by Genentech and Biogen Idec

Drug Type: Anti-CD20 Antibody

2018 Sales: $6.75 billion

2017 Sales: $7.298 billion

Percentage Change: -7.5%

(Sales figures exclude Biogen’s portion, as the company only disclosed the combined pre-tax profits of Rituxan and obinutuzumab (Gazyva), without reporting Rituxan separately. Biogen reported that the pre-tax profits for these two drugs were $1.432 billion in 2018 and $1.316 billion in 2017.)

Co-developed by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson (J&J)

Drug Type: Kinase Inhibitor

2018 Sales: $6.205 billion (AbbVie: $3.590 billion, J&J: $2.615 billion)

2017 Sales: $4.466 billion (AbbVie: $2.573 billion, J&J: $1.893 billion)

Percentage Change: 38.9%

Co-developed by Amgen and Kyowa Hakko Kirin

Drug Type: Leukocyte Growth Factor

2018 Sales: $4.684 billion (Amgen: $4.475 billion; Kyowa Hakko Kirin: $209 million)

2017 Sales: $4.716 billion (Amgen: $4.534 billion; Kyowa Hakko Kirin: $182 million)

Percentage Change: -0.7%

Developed by Pfizer

Drug Type: Kinase Inhibitor

2018 Sales: $4.118 billion

2017 Sales: $3.126 billion

Percentage Change: 16.3%

(Pfizer stated that although sales increased compared to the same period last year, a one-time price adjustment for full-year 2017 sales negatively impacted Ibrance’s international sales, which was related to finalized reimbursement agreements in certain developed European markets.)

Co-developed by Astellas Pharma and Pfizer

Drug Type: Androgen Receptor Inhibitor

2018 Sales: $3.624 billion (Astellas: $2.925 billion, Pfizer: $699 million)

2017 Sales: $3.116 billion (Astellas: $2.526 billion; Pfizer: $509 million)

Percentage Change: 16.3%

Reference link: https://www.genengnews.com/a-lists/top-10-best-selling-cancer-drugs-of-2018/

(Compiled by Tang Lulu)