Johnson & Johnson Surpasses $40 Billion in H1 2025 Revenue Among Top 10 Global Pharma Companies

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry DynamicsAs of August 6, the top 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies—Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Merck, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk—have all released their financial reports for the first half of 2025.
 

From the "report cards" of major pharmaceutical companies in the first half of the year, only one company broke through the 400 billion US dollar mark—Johnson & Johnson. The company operates two main divisions: innovative pharmaceuticals and medical technology. Among them, the oncology segment within the innovative pharmaceuticals business performed particularly well, becoming the core driver of growth. In terms of specific products, daratumumab, used for the treatment of multiple myeloma, is one of the key products in Johnson & Johnson's oncology portfolio. In the first half of 2025, it generated revenue of $6.776 billion, representing a 21.7% increase from the same period last year. This accounted for 56% of the total revenue of the oncology business, laying a solid foundation for Johnson & Johnson’s leading position.
 

Following closely is Roche, which achieved revenue of $37.362 billion due to strong profit margins in its pharmaceuticals business. In terms of pharmaceuticals, Roche generated approximately $28.137 billion, representing a 10% year-over-year increase. Among its products, the breast cancer drug Phesgo contributed 1.197 billion Swiss francs in revenue, growing by 55%; the blood cancer drug Polivy reported sales of 730 million Swiss francs, increasing by 46%; and the revenue from Omalizumab, used for asthma and food allergies, grew by 34% to reach 1.445 billion Swiss francs. A diversified product portfolio has driven Roche's continued growth and expansion.
 

Merck Achieves $31.335 Billion in Revenue in the First Half of the Year; Key Product "K Drug" Pembrolizumab Generates $15.161 Billion, Accounting for Nearly Half of Total Revenue, with a 7% YoY Growth; Compared to the 18% Growth Rate in the First Half of 2024, Its Growth Shows a Slowing Trend. However, Merck's Another Key Product, the Nine-Valent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine, Reported Only $2.453 Billion in Sales in the First Half of the Year, a Significant 48% YoY Decline, Putting Pressure on Merck’s Overall Performance.
 

In terms of growth rate, among the 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk ranked first with an 18% increase in sales, reaching $22.36 billion in revenue. This performance was mainly driven by the strong growth of its GLP-1 class drug, semaglutide series, which holds a dominant position in the weight loss and blood sugar reduction markets. With its first-mover advantage and broad indication coverage, it continues to expand its influence in the metabolic disease field. According to the 2024 financial report, Novo Nordisk's three semaglutide products generated a combined annual revenue of 201.849 billion Danish kroner (approximately $29.288 billion), representing a nearly 40% year-on-year increase, approaching Merck's "blockbuster drug" Keytruda (pembrolizumab), which reported sales of $29.486 billion in 2024. Additionally, according to its Q1 2025 earnings report, semaglutide achieved revenue of 55.776 billion Danish kroner (approximately $7.864 billion), accounting for more than 70% of Novo Nordisk's total revenue.
 

Next is Novartis, with a growth rate of 13% and revenue of $27.287 billion. Its core product, Sacubitril/Valsartan, remains the primary source of income, contributing $4.618 billion in sales in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 22%. Since receiving FDA approval for market launch in July 2015, the drug has gradually entered multiple global markets, becoming an important engine driving Novartis' growth due to its excellent clinical outcomes and market penetration.
 

However, two leading multinational pharmaceutical companies experienced a slowdown in growth in the first half of the year: Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The main reason for Merck's slowdown in performance growth in the first half of 2025 was that its core product, the HPV vaccine, saw a significant year-on-year sales decline of 48% due to reduced demand in the Chinese market and high channel inventory. Another key product, Keytruda (K药), achieved sales of $15.161 billion but saw its growth slow to 7%, facing challenges such as biosimilar competition after its patent expiration in 2028. Additionally, a 70% drop in overall performance in the China region also impacted total revenue. For Bristol-Myers Squibb, the slowdown in growth was primarily due to increased generic drug competition and adjustments in U.S. healthcare policies affecting its mature product portfolio. For instance, sales of the anticoagulant Eliquis decreased in the U.S. market, and Revlimid, used to treat multiple myeloma, saw a 44% year-on-year revenue decline due to generic competition.
 

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