The most expensive drug in history sells for more than $50 million a month.

Recently, the FiercePharma website in the United States statistics the sales of newly listed drugs since 2017, based on the first four quarters of each new drug market sales ranking, resulting in the "Top 10 heavyweight products" ranking. AbbVie is the only drug company to have two products on the list of new drug TOP10.
Table: Sales of newly listed drugs since 2017 top 10 . Source: FiercePharma.com, the watchmaking "E Drug Manager"
for pharmaceutical companies, after years of painstaking research and development, the new product has finally received regulatory approval, they expect the new drug to bring sustained and substantial revenue, so that research and development investment is worth it. And it all started with a successful listing.
the first stage of the promotion of a new drug is important because any drug has only one chance to go on the market - one chance to make a good first impression.
However, many things can go wrong. Production disruption, new safety goals, doctors' reluctance to try new alternatives, competitors' immediate intervention, ineffective marketing, confusing management, or simply "wrong timing" to go public.
in fact, McKinsey analyzed new drugs on the market in 2003-2009 in 2014, and about two-thirds of new drugs sold in the first year after the market fell short of pre-market expectations, and the early under-selling of the drug is a bad omen for future trends. The analysis shows that most underperforming new drugs will still lag behind initial expectations over the next two years.
think of cholesterol PCSK9 "fighters" after the market cold reception - Amin's Repatha, Sanofi and Regeneron's new lipid-lowering drug .Praluent. Pricing mistakes, payment pressures and intense competition are hampering their development. Gilead and Novartis' CAR-T therapies have suffered from their high prices, complex production processes and competitive clinical trials that have "stolen" patients.
compared with AstraZeneca's ovarian cancer-targeting drug Lynparza, The early sales of GSK's Zejula and Rubraca, a new cancer drug company, were dwarfed by the early days of the market, in stark contrast to Lynparza's lead and the limited commercial power of two smaller companies. GSK's two AIDS drug combinations face an uphill battle after they go on the market to persuade doctors to abandon the three combinations that have proven to be effective.
but the market does not mean a complete failure of the drug. Take Novartis's first heart failure drug, Entresto. At the start of the market, the market was skeptical, and cardiologists were reluctant to prescribe it because there was already a generic mainstream drug. Despite billions of dollars in sales expectations, Entresto sold only $170 million in 2016, its first full year on the market. But by 2019, Novito's sales will grow to $1.73 billion, about ten times as much as in 2016.
, like lying on the market, selling is not guaranteed to continue to be strong. For example, Gilead's hepatitis C drug, Epclusa. As the first antiviral drug to treat all six major hepatitis C viruses, the drug generated sales of $1.75 billion in the first six months after it was approved in June 2016. But with the entire hepatitis C drug market shrinking, the Epclusa family generated just $1.97 billion in revenue in 2019, unchanged from the previous year. Its main rival, AbbVie's Mavyret, the number one drug on our list, suffered the same fate.
1. Mavyret
: Abervey
Disease: hepatitis C
Approval Date: August 3, 2017
Sales for the first four quarters: $3.01 billion
Abevi's hepatitis C drug Mavyt Sales in the first four quarters of the market were $3 billion
with Ebervi's hepatitis C generic synod drug Mavyret having a clear advantage over Those of Gilead's early-listed drugs, Vosevi and Epclusa. Eno is an eight-week treatment, while other drugs are treated for about 12 weeks.
to boost sales, AbbVie also set prices for the drug much lower than its competitors, even less than AbbVie's own old drug, Viekira. Eno's earlier sales repeatedly exceeded expectations. Richard, the company's chief executive at the time, did not think revenue slower, saying the market would remain in place for a long time.
if Eno continues to grow at this rate, it could help AbbVie diversify its product line, not just its star product, the immuno-drug Humira. Yet Eno did not do it all. In fact, the entire Hepatitis C drug market peaked in 2015 with global sales of about $23 billion and has been on a downward trend ever since. As a result, Eno's full sales soon began to decline.
to compound the problem, Express Scripts, North America's largest pharmacy benefit management company, removed Aino from its 2019 national preferred prescription stake. To put more pressure on AbbVie, Gilead officially introduced licensed generics to Epclusa and Harvoni in 2019. These generics helped Gilead take back some of its market share from AbbVie.
multiple pressures, Aino's global sales fell 16 percent in 2019 to $2.89 billion. This is only the second full year after it goes on the market. Objectively speaking, Aino's total sales of nearly $3 billion are truly numbers that cannot be ignored. But it cannot match the record $10.28 billion in sales for the full year when Solvadi, the hepatitis C-generation drug, was approved for sale in December 2013.
2. Biktarvy
: Gilead
Disease: AIDS
Approval Date: Sales for the first four quarters of
on February 7, 2018: $1.94 billion
Gilead's HIV drug portfolio totaled $1.94 billion in the first four quarters of the market.
Gilead's AIDS drug, Biktarvy, quickly gained popularity after the market, surpassing the large biotech company's Genvoya as the most popular new HIV drug in the United States in the second quarter of the market. Based on sales in the first four quarters, Bhp has replaced The Company with $1.94 billion in annual sales, making it the most successful anti-AIDS drug in history.
for a serious disease like AIDS, the must-have is small packaging, a single piece weighs only 275 mg. By comparison, GSK's competitive drug, Triumeq, is 950 milligrams per tablet. Taking smaller pills can reduce the psychological burden on patients, but this advantage does not explain the success of The Attwee.
trial data show edifice shows that Gilead's drug showed lower side effects than GSK's cocktail therapy. Nor does It face prescription hurdles like GSK's YuMeikai. In order to receive GSK cocktail therapy, patients must undergo genetic mutation screening to determine whether they are allergic to one of the drugs, Ziagen.
2019, The Tovey continues to lead its competitors, GSK's two-in-one HIV combination drug Juluca and Dovato, with total sales of $526 million, compared with $4.74 billion for 2019. Daniel, chief executive of
Gilead, said on a conference call in February that about one in two new or replacement patients in the U.S. now start using mustovy. At the same time, bhp sharply is spreading globally, building on the rapid growth in U.S. sales. It was approved by the European Union in June 2018, japan in March 2019 and China in August 2019.
.Ocrevus
: Roche
Diseases: Multiple Sclerosis
Approval Date: March 28, 2017
Sales for the first four quarters: $1.38 billion
Roche's Ocrevus is the first approved drug for the treatment of recurrent and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which became a bomb-heavy product within 12 months of its launch.
multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus is considered the most successful product in Roche's history, and it has been a huge success within 12 months of its launch.
antibody drugs are a real "disruptor" for the already competitive multiple sclerosis market. Ocrevus is the first drug approved for the treatment of recurrent multiple sclerosis and, more importantly, Ocrevus can also be used in drugs that are more difficult to treat in the first stage of progressive multiple sclerosis. Previously other therapeutic drugs, such as The Company's heavy bomb, Tecfidera, were only used for the more common recurrent multiple sclerosis. Despite the breakthrough,
Roche surprised the industry by pricing Ocrevus 25 per cent below Merck's Rebif and 20 per cent lower than other competing products.
Roche's strategy has paid off. In the 12 months since the market launch, Ocrevus has gained 7 per cent of the market. Ocrevus's growth momentum will remain strong in 2019, despite the addition of new competitors such as Novartis's Mayzent and Merck's Mavenclad. By the end of 2019, more than 150,000 patients worldwide were treated with Ocrevus.
4. Shingrix
Company: GSK
Disease: Shinghers
Approval Date: October 13, 2017 (Canada); Sales for the first four quarters of
on October 23, 2017
GSK's shingrix belt herpes vaccine nearly broke the heavy bomb level in its first year of market.
like many other drugs we have successfully launched, GlaxoSmithKline's Shingrix has become an important market disruptor. Prior to Shingrix, Mossarton's Zostavax was a market leader in the prevention of shingles. Zostavax was approved in 2006 and had sales of just $685 million in 2016. By contrast, Shingrix almost broke through the bombshell sales in its first year on the market and has continued to grow ever since.
Shingrix is a recombinant vaccine with an adjectomy, while Zostavax is an old-fashioned live vaccine for chickenpox shingles virus detoxification. "Shingrix is much better than Zostavax," the FDA's independent panel said in approving the vaccine.
Shingrix immediately eroded Zostavax's market share. By mid-March 2018, five months after Shingrix's launch, Shingrix already accounted for 90 percent of U.S. prescriptions for shingles vaccines. By the end of 2018, Shingrix's market share will have reached 98 percent, according to GSK.
huge demand has not only repeatedly surprised the industry, but also caught GSK off guard. In 2018, GSK had to introduce order restrictions and suspend consumer education activities such as television advertising because orders far exceeded supply. Although GSK quickly secured approval from Chinese regulators in 2019, the company's plan is to list in China in stages to ensure adequate supply.
GSK has plans to increase its vaccine production capacity. When the new plant is put into use, it could increase production of the vaccine by tens of millions. However, it will take time, and GSK said on a conference call in February that the new production facility could be launched after 2024.
5. Spinraza
: Begken and Ionis
Disease: Spinal Muscular Dystrophy (SMA)
Approval Date: December 23, 2016
Sales for the first four quarters: $884 million
Spinraza is the first FDA-approved drug to treat spinal muscular dystrophy, with total sales of $884 million in the first four quarters of the year.
FDA approval of Spinraza, a joint development between Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, was five months ahead of schedule. This reflects the urgency of the FDA's approval of the first treatment for spinal muscular dystrophy.
FDA's generosity to Spinraza's indications, allowing the drug to be used in all three subtypes of the disease, which can be used in both children and adults, underscores once again the lack of treatment for this rare genetic disease.
Spinraza got off to a strong start to the market, thanks in part to its more frequent dose use. The patient was given three injectiondoses before the fourth injection after 30 days. The maintenance dose after that is injected every four months.
, despite the public's attention for the sky-high $125,000 per injection, there are still people willing to pay. Spinraza's sales in the second quarter of 2017 were $203 million, nearly three times the industry's expectations.
subsequently promoted Spinraza in several major international markets. As of July 2017, regulators in the European Union, Japan, Canada and Brazil had approved Spinraza. But as U.S. patients enter the maintenance dose phase, the initial boom apparently subsided. As of the fourth quarter of 2019, Spinraza had sales in the U.S. of $243 million and overseas sales of $300 million.
, however, Novartis's gene therapy drug, Zolgensma, puts pressure on Spinraza, which promises to be cured with just one injection. Spinraza also faces the challenge of Roche's oral drug Risdiplam.
6. S.