Recently, pharmaceutical companies have been releasing their second-quarter earnings reports one after another. The FirstWord website has compiled a list of the 18 drugs with the largest sales increases in the first half of this year by comparing their sales growth with that of the same period last year.

　　Recently, pharmaceutical companies have been releasing their second-quarter earnings reports one after another. The FirstWord website has compiled a list of the 18 drugs with the largest sales increases in the first half of this year by comparing their sales growth with that of the same period last year.

　　BMS’s two major drugs rank at the top.

　　Bristol-Myers Squibb’s PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo surged ahead with a robust $1.382 billion in sales growth, securing the top spot on the H1 2023 Top 18 list of drugs with the largest sales increases. The drug generated $1.544 billion in sales during the first half of this year, compared with just $162 million in the same period last year.

　　Opdivo is poised for approval to treat a range of cancers, with its second-line indication for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being the most highly anticipated. Originally, Opdivo’s sales growth over the next 6 to 12 months was expected to draw significant attention; however, its recent failure to demonstrate survival benefits in first-line NSCLC treatment has now placed Merck’s Keytruda in a strong position to take the lead in this competitive race.

　　However, recent developments suggest that investor attention toward Bristol-Myers Squibb has broadened beyond Opdivo. The strong performance of its novel anticoagulant Eliquis demonstrates the company’s shift from its previously dominant position in oncology immunotherapy to diversifying into other therapeutic areas. Although the drug’s launch was slower than expected, it is now generating incremental revenue that surpasses that of Xarelto, the rival anticoagulant co-developed by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson.

　　The outstanding performance of these two drugs has demonstrated to the industry the sustained rapid growth trajectory of novel anticoagulants, largely driven by the steady transition of patients from warfarin to these newer agents. Notably, Eliquis posted sales growth of $719 million, making it the fourth-largest contributor to overall sales growth in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, Xarelto recorded sales growth of $573 million, ranking seventh; of this, Bayer accounted for $325 million and Johnson & Johnson for $248 million.

　　Following closely behind Opdivo, AbbVie’s inflammatory disease treatment Humira has secured the second-largest increase in sales for the first half of the year. Currently, the drug is the world’s best-selling medication; however, its revenue in the first half of 2016 rose by only $1.078 billion compared with the same period in 2015. A key component of AbbVie’s strategy is to reinvest Humira’s profits in new product development, ensuring that the company can sustain robust sales growth through innovative offerings when faced with the challenge of biosimilar competition.

　　Pfizer’s newly launched breast cancer treatment, Ibrance, secured third place on the T0P 18 list of drugs with the largest sales increases in the first half of the year, posting a $764 million rise in sales. This strong performance also means that Eli Lilly and Novartis will be left to compete solely on academic merit for the second spot in this drug category.

　　GSK’s Anti-HIV Drug Becomes a Priority

　　Regeneron and Bayer’s age-related macular degeneration treatment, Eylea, continue to deliver robust growth, despite facing competition from Roche’s Lucentis, developed in collaboration with Novartis, as well as Roche’s Avastin. In the first half of the year, Eylea’s sales revenue increased by $682 million, ranking fifth overall, with Regeneron contributing $416 million and Bayer contributing $266 million.

　　Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, is set to step down in March next year, leaving his successor to confront the challenges posed by respiratory disease therapeutics. Although the company currently dominates this therapeutic area, the competitive landscape is deteriorating rapidly.

　　GlaxoSmithKline is also fully committed to promoting sales of Triumeq, an HIV treatment consisting of dolutegravir, abacavir, and lamivudine, which has demonstrated outstanding performance in the field of HIV therapy. In addition, Gilead Sciences has recently launched Genvoya, a four-component combination regimen comprising etravirine, emtricitabine, cobicistat, and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate. Notably, Triumeq recorded the sixth-largest increase in sales in the first half of the year, with sales growth of US$659 million, while Genvoya’s sales growth amounted to only US$460 million, placing it ninth on the list.

　　Currently, industry consensus projects that Triumeq could achieve annual sales of US$6 billion in 2020, while Genvoya’s early performance has been largely overlooked. External attention on Gilead is primarily focused on the decline in revenue from its hepatitis C drugs and the ensuing M&A activities aimed at strengthening its R&D pipeline.

　　For Celgene, the hematologic oncology drug Revlimid has firmly established itself among the world’s best-selling anticancer agents, with first-half sales growth of $487 million, placing it at No. 8 on the list. Although the drug recently encountered setbacks in a clinical trial for relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, this has not yet had a material impact on its performance. In addition, Celgene’s psoriatic arthritis treatment Otezla continues to deliver strong results, posting sales growth of $288 million to secure a spot on the list at No. 15.

　　Meanwhile, Cosentyx, hailed by Novartis as its most successful new drug launch to date, ranks 12th on the list, driven by sales growth of $384 million.