Top 20 Blockbuster Cancer Drugs
2018 Best Selling Oncology Drugs Include Revlimid and Avastin
Oncology medications are booming business for the pharmaceutical industry. Nearly all of the major companies are either currently manufacturing oncology drugs or have oncology medications in their pipeline as potential medications to sell in the coming years.
High Cost of Oncology Medications
Cancer affects millions of people each year. As the world's population continues to grow, the number of cases of cancer will grow. However, thanks to prevention techniques such as diet and exercise, the rate of new cancer cases has been predicted to stabilize. The caveat to this prediction is that undeveloped countries will still be at risk for increased rates of cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the rate of new cases of cancer in the U.S. has been continuously declining, while the survival rate has been increasing.
Many of the newer medications are geared toward very specific types of cancer, with manufacturers charging premium prices and facing little competition. Since biologic treatments do not have the same kind of generic competition as chemical drugs, they have a longer shelf-life in terms of patent protection.
The pharmaceutical industry's 20 top-selling cancer drugs generate annual sales of over $50 billion worldwide. Celgene's Revlimid, Merk's Keytruda, and Roche's Rituxan, Avastin, and Herceptin lead the pack, with $31 billion in sales for these five drugs alone.
International Demand for Oncology Drugs
There is an increasing demand worldwide for oncology medications, so pharmaceutical companies are seeing significant growth outside of their usual markets in the United States and Europe.
Rising healthcare spending in Asian countries like China and Japan make medications more accessible. In India, expensive cancer care is becoming possible for those who can afford it, partially due to the influx of pharmaceutical companies outsourcing manufacturing to Indian factories.
Revlimid
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Manufacturer: Celgene
Condition or Diseases treated: Multiple myeloma
Global sales: $9.7 billion
Generic name: Lenalidomide
Keytruda
Manufacturer: Merck & Co.
Condition or Diseases treated: Advanced melanoma; non-small cell lung cancer; head and neck squamous cell cancer
Global sales: $7.2 billion
Generic name: Pembrolizumab
Herceptin
Manufacturer: Roche
Condition or Diseases treated: HER2+ breast cancer
Global sales: $7 billion
Generic name: Trastuzumab
Avastin
Manufacturer: Roche
Condition or Diseases treated: Breast, colorectal, lung, kidney, ovarian cancers
Global sales: $6.8 billion
Generic name: Bevacizumab
Rituxan
Manufacturer: Roche
Condition or Diseases treated: Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Global sales: $6.8 billion
Generic name: Rituximab
Imbruvica
Manufacturer: Abbvie
Condition or Diseases treated: Mantel cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocetic leukemia
Global Sales: $3.6 billion
Generic name: Ibrutinib capsules
Gardasil
Manufacturer: Merck & Co.
Condition or Diseases treated: Cervical cancer
Global sales: $3.2 billion
Generic name: Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6,11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant
Perjeta
Manufacturer: Roche
Condition or Diseases treated: HER2-positive breast cancer
Global sales: $2.8 billion
Generic name: Pertuzumab
Alimta
Manufacturer: Eli Lilly
Condition or Diseases treated: Non-small cell lung cancer
Global sales: $2.1 billion
Generic name: Pemetrexed
Tasigna
Manufacturer: Novartis
Condition or Diseases treated: Chronic myeloid leukemia
Global Sales: $1.9 billion
Generic name: Nilotinib
Opdivo
Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb; Ono Pharmaceutical
Condition or Diseases treated: Non-small cell lung cancer; metastatic melanoma; renal cell carcinoma; classical Hodgkin lymphoma
Global sales: $1.8 billion
Generic name: Nivolumab
Xgeva
Manufacturer: Amgen
Condition or Diseases treated: Bone metastases
Global Sales: $1.8 billion
Generic name: Denosumab
Zytiga
Manufacturer: Johnson & Johnson
Condition or Diseases treated: Prostate cancer
Global sales: $1.7 billion
Generic name: Abiraterone acetate
Revolade
Manufacturer: Novartis
Condition or Diseases treated: long-term immune thrombocytopenic purpura
Global sales: $1.7 billion
Generic name: Promacta
Gleevec
Manufacturer: Novartis
Condition or Diseases treated: Chronic myeloid leukemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Global sales: $1.6 billion
Generic name: Imatinib
Afinitor
Manufacturer: Novartis
Condition or Diseases treated: Breast cancer
Global Sales: $1.6 billion
Generic name: Everolimus
Ibrance
Manufacturer: Pfizer
Condition or Diseases treated: Breast cancer
Global sales: $1.1 billion
Generic name: Palbociclib
Tarceva
Manufacturer: Roche
Condition or Diseases treated: Non-small-cell lung, pancreatic cancers
Global Sales: $538 million
Generic name: Erlotinib
Velcade
Manufacturer: Takeda
Condition or Diseases treated: Multiple myeloma, mantle cell lymphoma
Global sales: $127 million
Generic name: Bortezomib
Xtandi
Manufacturer: Pfizer/Astellas Pharma
Condition or Diseases treated: Prostate cancer
Global sales: $1.9 million
Generic name: Enzalutamide
Predictions
The FDA has allocated fast track and breakthrough designation for many of the oncology drugs now in advanced clinical trials. It is expected that there will be many new blockbuster cancer drugs in the years ahead.
Industry analysts predict that oncology therapies now in development or recently released by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Merck, Roche, and Johnson & Johnson will be among the new market leaders.