Collectively, the top 10 blockbuster drugs of 2023 generated over $131 billion in sales last year. Looking closer at these figures provides insight into the shifting landscape of the pharmaceutical industry, including the rise of weight loss drugs, the fall of COVID-19 vaccines, and what happens when the patent for the top-selling drug for nearly a decade expires.
Here are the top 10 best-selling, brand-name drugs of 2023, as calculated by Fierce Pharma.
Sales of Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex and Darzalex Faspro rose 22% to $9.7 billion in 2023, from $7.9 billion the year before. The drugs are used to treat a form of blood cancer known as myeloma.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical’s Opdivo, a treatment for melanoma and other cancers, generated $10 billion in global sales. In 2023, the melanoma-fighting medication alone accounted for 20% of the company’s $45 billion in annual revenue.
Stelara, used to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, was Johnson & Johnson best-selling drug in 2023. It generated $10.9 billion in revenue last year.
In 2021 and 2022, Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine — branded as Comirnaty— was the top selling drug in the world with sales reaching a high of $37.8 billion in 2022. As demand for the jab fell in 2023, so did sales. Last year, sales of Comirnaty plunged 70% to $11.2 billion.
Sales of Regeneron and Sanofi’s Dupixent rose 33% to $11.6 billion in 2023. The medication is used to treat a variety of conditions including eczema, asthma, and rinosinusitis.
Sales of Gilead Science’s HIV treatment Biktarvy rose 14% to $11.8 billion in 2023. The treatment accounted for nearly 44% of Gilead’s total $26.9 billion sales that year.
The blood thinner Eliquis was Bristol Myers Squibb’s highest revenue-generating medication last year. It was also one of the 10 drugs that are subject to Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. The drug’s reduced price will be announced later this year and go into effect in 2025.
Sales of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes medication Ozempic, known for its weight-loss side effects grew 60% to $14 billion in 2023. Wall Street analysts project that the market for GLP-1, the class of drug that Ozempic belongs to, will reach $105 billion by 2030.
Humira, a treatment for arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, was the best-selling drug in the world for a decade — and AbbVie reaped the profits. But the pharmaceutical giant lost its exclusive rights to the drug in 2023, making room for cheaper biosimilars to enter the market. And as a result, sales of the treatment fell 32% to $14.4 billion in 2023.
Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda may soon face the same fate as Humira, as its main patent is set to expire in 2028. But in 2023, Keytruda was the best-selling drug in the world. Sales of the medication rose 19% to $25 billion last year.
