Keytruda to head list of top-selling drugs in 2025, with $22.2 billion, says analyst

7 October 2019

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and Japanese drugmaker Otsuka’s (TYO: 4768) immuno-oncology therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is projected to be the best-selling drug by annual revenue in 2023, earning an impressive $22.2 billion by 2025, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Following Keytruda, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMS) and Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) oral anticoagulant Eliquis (apixaban) will be the second best-selling drug out of the top ten, with annual sales of $18.7 billion by 2025.

Keshalini Sabaratnam, pharma analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Keytruda is expected to overtake AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Eisai’s (TYO: 4523) anti-inflammatory drug Humira (adalimumab), which is currently the world’s top-selling drug. Emerging as an effective treatment for a range of cancers, Keytruda has developed into Merck biggest product since its Food and Drug Administration approval in 2015. It has received market approvals for over 20 oncology indications in the USA, and is continuing to expand into new indications and markets globally.”

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