Pharmaceutical Industry at a Glance Nationalities of the top pharmaceutical companies in terms of global sales -Trends in 2024

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The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Daisuke Kanai, Senior Researcher
The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Kumi Yoshino, Senior Researcher

Summary

1. Introduction

The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research (hereafter referred to as "top 100 pharmaceuticals in terms of global sales"), we surveyed the basic ^patents1) for each item and investigated and reported on the companies that held the rights to the patented inventions at the time they were ^made2). 2) This time, we analyzed the characteristics of the top pharmaceutical products in terms of global sales in 2024.

Survey Methodology

The top 100 drugs in terms of global sales were selected from the list published in IQVIA World Review Analyst 2025, excluding generics, biosimilars, diagnostics, and vaccines and therapeutics that are not distributed to the general public, such as those purchased in bulk by governments, as in the past, and were included in this ^survey3). The basic patents for each product are listed in Table 1.

The basic patents for each product were identified using Cortellis Competitive Intelligence by Clarivate Analytics, and the patents classified as "Product" and "Patent" for each product were used as the basis for the survey. The patents were identified based on the patents classified as "Product" in the "Patent" category for each item. Similar to the analysis methods reported so far, the nationalities were classified and analyzed as follows. In addition, we supplemented the information using Evaluate PharmaⓇ (as of November 2025).

Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical ("ATC") classification was based on IQVIA data. The technical classification of active ingredients was categorized into chemically synthesized drugs and ^{biopharmaceuticals3)}. ATC Description is a proprietary therapeutic category name used by IQVIA World Review Analyst and does not exactly match the MOA (Mechanism Of Action) described in the ATC Classification or the package insert. Please note that the MOAs do not exactly match the ATC classifications or MOAs (Mechanism Of Action) in the package inserts.

Synthetic drugs are defined as drugs manufactured by stepwise chemical synthesis (small molecules), and biopharmaceuticals are defined as items with "Genetical Recombination" in the generic name, such as antibodies in the approval information in Japan, and items that are described in the package insert as products derived from specific living organisms or living organisms, such as blood products and vaccines. ^The items that are not approved in Japan are those that are listed in the FDIC's "Genetically Recombined" section in the generic name, such as antibodies, blood products and vaccines.) For items not approved in Japan, we individually surveyed the FDA's approval information and the websites of each ^company5).

Results

3-1. number of drugs

3-1-1 Number of Pharmaceuticals by Nationality

The number of drugs by nationality of the company creating the drug is shown in Figure 1. The total number of items replaced between 2023 and 2024 was 9.

3-1-2 Number of drugs by nationality of applicant

Figure 2 shows the number of items by applicant nationality. in the 2024 survey, Japan was in second place with 10 items, tied with Germany. in the 2023 ^survey2), Japan (9 items) was in third place, tied with Denmark. Switzerland (Fig. 1), which ranked second in terms of the nationality of the creating company (or the nationality of the parent company if there was an overseas parent company at the time of filing), ranked sixth in terms of applicant nationality (4 items), which, as in 2023, was considered to be due to patents by foreign-owned ^companies2).

3-1-3. Annual change in the number of drugs by nationality of companies producing drugs

Figure 3 shows the nationality transition of the creating companies in the top items from 2015 to 2024 (top 6 countries in terms of number of items: 91 items in total in 2024). In the annual trend of the top 6 countries, the number of top items for Japan has been on a decreasing trend for the 10 years from 2015 to 2024, but in 2023 and 2024, 8 items ranked in the top for 2 consecutive years, and in the last 3 years from 2022 to 2024, 7 items in 2022, 8 items in 2023, and 8 items in 2024, showing that the trend has been different (Figure 3). This is a different trend from the past (Figure 3).

Table 1 shows the nationalities of companies that generated the top products in global sales from 2003 to 2024 (no data for 2004-2007, 2009-2012, or 2014). 2024 saw China and Finland each rank high for the first time in the period covered in this report. Both drugs were classified as L-therapy (antineoplastics and immunomodulators). One difference between the two countries is that the nationality of both the originator and the applicant of the newly ranked Finnish drug was Finnish. In contrast, in China, only the nationality of the company that created the drug was Finnish. In 2024, no country reached an all-time high in the number of newly ranked drugs, with Germany tying for the highest number (9).

3-1-4. annual transition in the number of newly ranked drugs

Table 2 shows the annual trend in the number of top newly ranked items from 2015-2024 (including re-ranked items). 2023 saw the highest number of newly ranked items for Japan with 3, while 2024 saw the second highest number of newly ranked items for Japan with 2. In addition, the number of Japan's rank-outs in 2023 was 2 items, subtracting +1, and the number of Japan's rank-outs in 2024 was 1 item, subtracting +1, as in 2023 (Table 3).

3-1-5. number of drugs by technology category

The number of biopharmaceuticals ranked in the top category in 2024 (synthetic chemical drugs and biopharmaceuticals) was 52 for synthetic chemical drugs and 48 for biopharmaceuticals, unchanged from the number in 2023. The number of biopharmaceuticals in 2021-2024 was 48, 45, 48, 48, and 48, respectively, which is different from the previous trend (Figure 4).

In terms of the nationalities of companies producing 52 synthetic chemical drugs in 2024, Japan ranked 2nd with 5 products, the same number as Germany (Fig. 5; in 2023, Japan ranked 3rd with 5 products, the same number as the ^UK2) ). Among the nationalities of biopharmaceutical companies that created 48 biopharmaceutical products in 2024, Switzerland (8 biopharmaceutical products and 2 synthetic chemical products) and Denmark (7 biopharmaceutical products and 0 synthetic chemical products) ranked in the top 5 ⁽ Figures 5 and 6 ⁾. (Figures 5 and 6).

3-2. sales

3-2-1. sales of top-ranked companies by nationality

The ranking of nationalities in terms of top product sales remained unchanged from 20232 ⁾, with the United States (+2.1%) and Germany (-2.0%) showing larger percentage changes than the other countries from ²⁰²³²⁾ to 2024 (Figure 7).

3-2-2. Sales of Top-ranked Products by Technology Category

In 2024, sales by technology category were $321.1 billion for chemical synthetics and $381.8 billion for biopharmaceuticals. In terms of the breakdown of the top products, there were four more synthetic chemical drugs than biopharmaceuticals, but biopharmaceuticals accounted for 8% higher sales (Figure 8).

Focusing on synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals, sales and their share of top-line sales showed that sales remained virtually unchanged during the 2015-2019 period, but trended upward during the 2020-2024 period. In the 2015-2022 period, the percentage continued to decline from 58% to 43%, but in the 2022-2024 period, the trend was 43% in 2022, 45% in 2023, and 46% in 2024, a different trend from the previous years (Figure 9)

3-3. Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification of top products

3-3-1. ATC Classification of Top-ranking Products (Number of Products and Sales)

In terms of the number of top 2024 products by ATC category, the number of L-therapy (antineoplastics and immunomodulators) increased by 3 products (from 33 to 36) compared to ²⁰²³²⁾. ⁽ Figure 10).

3-3-2. sales ratio of high-ranking items by ATC classification

The percentage of top-line sales by ATC category is shown in Figure 11, with L-Therapy (Antineoplastics and Immunomodulators) and A-Therapy (Gastrointestinal and Metabolics) showing higher percentages during the 2015-2024 period. In the last five years from 2020 to 2024, A (gastrointestinal and metabolic), D (dermatological), and C (cardiovascular) increased each year.

3-3-3. Characteristics of ATC Description of Top-Selling Items

The top 10 ATC descriptions and sales are shown in Table 4. as in 2023, GLP-1 receptor agonists (anti-diabetics) (including anti-obesity drugs (excluding diet)) were the top-selling drugs in 2024. the growth rate from 2023 to 2024 was 143.9% for systemic psoriasis The highest increase from 2023 to 2024 was for systemic psoriasis at 143.9%, followed by GLP-1 receptor agonists (anti-diabetics) (including anti-obesity drugs (excluding dietary)) at 137.3%, a higher rate than for other ATC Descriptions (Table 4). Descriptions were seven species. There were also 26 ATC Descriptions that were ranked in the top three consecutive years, 18 of which had increased sales.

3-3-4. Characteristics of ATC Classification of Top-Selling Products by Country

Figures 12 and 13 show the ATC classifications, sales, and percentages of the top products in 2023 and 2024 by the nationality of the originator company. In Japan, sales and percentages of L (anti-cancer and immunomodulators) and N (nervous system) increased from 2023 to 2024, while in the top three countries (the U.S., Germany, and Denmark), sales of A (gastrointestinal tract and metabolic effects) decreased from 2023 to 2024, but the percentage of ATC sales decreased from 2023 to 2024. Sales decreased from 2023 to 2024 in the top three countries (U.S.A., Germany, and Denmark), but the percentage was the first or second highest among the countries and remained high from 2023 to 2024. The top three countries in terms of sales (Switzerland (4th), the United Kingdom (5th), and Japan (6th)) did not include any A (Gastrointestinal tract and Metabolic effects) products.

Summary and Discussion

Eight products from Japan were ranked among the top 100 products in 2023 and 2024 (Table 1). The number of new entries and subtracted outliers in Japan's top 100 were +1 in 2023 and +1 in 2024 (Table 3). The trend was different for the last three years (Table 1), while Japan had a declining trend for the period 2003-2022 (12 items in 2003 and 7 items in 2022). In order to break out of the declining trend and turn to an increasing trend, it will be necessary to continue drug discovery and development for the top-ranked ^products6) and to create a market environment where innovative drugs can be evaluated and appropriate prices can be ^maintained7).

7) Among the new entries and top ranked products, China and Finland were included for the first time as the country of origin (Table 1). In particular, China's presence in the past surveys conducted by The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Researchhas been evident in the number of pipelines, alliances and acquisitions, and ^{CDMOs8, 9, 10)}, and the number of Chinese products in the top ranking is expected to increase in the near future.

The number of biopharmaceuticals in the top category by technology category continued to increase from 26 in 2008 to 48 in 2021, showing a clear upward trend. On the other hand, the number of biopharmaceuticals subsequently increased to 45 in 2022, 48 in 2023, and 48 in 2024, showing a different trend from the previous one (Figure 4). In addition, sales of synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals, which had remained flat during the 2015-2020 period, began to increase from 2021. The share of synthetic chemical drugs in sales of the top products has been on a downward trend from 58% to 45% from 2015 to 2021, but the downward trend appears to have halted after 2022. It is interesting to note that in recent years, the upward trend in the number of biopharmaceuticals in the top product categories has converged, while the sales and share of synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals have increased (Figure 9). Compared to the changes in the number of synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals and biotech pharmaceuticals, the ATC description of synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals that newly entered the top category in the last three years, which showed a different trend, shows four new additions in 2022, one in 2023, and two in 2024. PARP inhibitors and JAK inhibitors included in the ATC Descriptions of these seven drugs (see Reference 1) increased sales with the expansion of indications as synthetic drugs that act on specific targets, while GLP-1 agonists, anti-obesity drugs, and anti-migraine drugs showed clear evaluation indicators ^{such as} weight ^{loss11) and} reduction of monthly headache ^attacks12), which 12), which led to continuation of treatment. The top ranking was supported by the "clarity of targets" and "clarity of evaluation indices," and is the result of new innovations generated by research and development of synthetic chemical drugs. Furthermore, there are 26 ATC descriptions of synthetic chemical drugs ranked among the top products in the 2022-2024 period, of which 18 (69.2% of the total) had increased sales in the last three years. Furthermore, among the 18, the top 6 (23.1% of the total) with the highest sales ratio in 2024/2022 exceeded 160% of the total sales in 2024/2022 (Ref. 2), averaging 131.9% of the total sales in 2022-2024 of the top items including both synthetic chemical drugs and biotech drugs, and averaging 133.9% of the top items of the The six ATC Descriptions are used in areas where long-term treatment is required, such as chronic diseases, and their continued use based on clear clinical indicators can be cited as the main common points. In addition, many of them can be added to or used in combination with existing standard therapies, and the wide range of target patients and the expansion of indications support stable sales growth. These examples will also provide important information when considering new drug development ^{strategies13)}.

This paper has mainly discussed synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals, which have shown different trends in recent years. On the other hand, for biopharmaceuticals, of the 33 ATC Descriptions ranked consecutively for the three-year period 2022-2024, 24 (72.7%) showed an increase in sales value, a higher rate than for synthetic chemical drugs (69.2% (18/26)) (not shown in the chart). Furthermore, when comparing the 24 biopharmaceuticals to the 18 chemical synthetics, there were only 3 ATC Descriptions of the same type. In other words, the targets (therapeutic categories) of the top products that continue to grow with high sales are very different between biopharmaceuticals and synthetic chemical drugs. In the future, we will compare the targets (therapeutic categories) of biopharmaceuticals and synthetic drugs, and investigate the trends of the top selling drugs in the world.

In the 2024 ATC classification, the ATC category of interest was A (Gastrointestinal and Metabolic), which saw sales increase by $28.1 billion from 2023 to 2024, despite the fact that there were +/- 0 new entries in this category. The growth in A (Gastrointestinal and Metabolic) was even more pronounced than in L (Anti-Tumor and Immunomodulators), which had the highest sales in the ATC category, up $28.5 billion, including growth in the top three categories. A closer look at the ATC Description shows that Diabetes and GLP-1 agonist used for obesity were the top-selling drugs for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, with the highest growth rates from 2023 to 2024 (Table 4). Diabetes and GLP-1 agonist used for obesity were the most influential MOAs (Mechanism Of Action) in the market in the 2024 study. However, in the global pharmaceutical market environment, uncertainties are emerging that will have a significant impact on the market, including the tariff and MFN pricing policies of the United States, healthcare and industrial policies and drug pricing systems in various countries, price fluctuations, and geopolitical threats, and diabetes and obesity treatments are already among the products that are expected to be affected14). ⁽¹⁴⁾. Since significant changes in sales are expected due to a variety of factors, we will closely monitor how these drugs will fluctuate in 2025.

Looking at Japan in terms of sales and percentage of top ATCs by nationality, the major change when comparing 2023 and 2024 is the increase in sales and percentage of items in the L (anti-cancer and immunomodulatory drugs) and N (neurology) therapeutic areas in 2024. The former was a trend that followed the top countries, while the latter was a characteristic of Japan (and Switzerland) not seen in many other countries (Fig. 19). We will continue to investigate how these trends and ^{characteristics15)} will affect Japan in the future.

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