Top 20 Blockbuster Cancer Drugs

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.