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LONDON — The biopharmaceutical industry experienced varied revenue shifts in 2023, with significant success for companies with obesity drugs. Over half (13) of the top 20 publicly traded global innovative biopharmaceutical companies witnessed revenue growth in 2023, despite an overall 1.6% decline in aggregate revenue to $816 billion from 2022 to 2023, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData reveals that Novo Nordisk, CSL Ltd, and Eli Lilly reported YoY revenue growth of 31.3%, 26%, and 19.6%, respectively. Among the top 20 companies, Novo Nordisk experienced the highest revenue growth of 31.3% to $33.7 billion, driven by the strong success of its obesity and diabetes blockbuster drugs Ozempic (off-label for obesity) and Wegovy, which recorded global sales of $13.9 billion and $4.6 billion in 2023, respectively.
Similar to Novo Nordisk, the success of Lilly’s obesity and diabetes drugs Mounjaro (off-label for obesity) and Zepbound fueled its revenue growth to $34.1 billion, with a combined global sales of $5.3 billion in 2023.
Alison Labya, MSc, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Ozempic are expected to surpass Merck & Co’s Keytruda in global analyst consensus sales by 2030, due to the surging demand for weight loss drugs. Projected sales for Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Ozempic are $27.4 billion, $27.3 billion, and $22.4 billion, respectively, compared to $21.3 billion for Keytruda, according to GlobalData’s Drugs Database.”
Other blockbuster drugs that drove Lilly’s revenue growth were breast cancer drug Verzenio and diabetes drug Jardiance, which recorded global sales of $3.9 billion and $2.7 billion in 2023, respectively. Meanwhile, CSL’s immunoglobulin products Privigen and Hizentra achieved global sales of $4.7 billion, accounting for 50% of its total revenue.
Pfizer recorded the largest revenue decline of 47.7% in 2023, due to waning demand for its COVID-19 products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, which registered YoY decline in global sales of $26.4 billion and $17.5 billion, respectively.
Labya adds: “As a result of Pfizer’s revenue decline, Johnson & Johnson regained its position as the top player in the biopharmaceutical industry by revenue, having witnessed $85.2 billion in revenue in 2023.”
Six out of the top 20 companies achieved YoY operating profit growth in 2023, and among those, three companies reported greater than 20% operating profit growth, which include AstraZeneca (118.1%), Novo Nordisk (37.1%), and Novartis (22.6%). The strong success of Novo Nordisk’s obesity and diabetes drugs facilitated its operating profit growth. On the other hand, Pfizer (-102.6%), Bayer (-91.3%), Merck & Co (-90.1%), Astellas (-80.3%), and Takeda (-53.3%) reported a more than 50% decline in their operating profit in 2023.
Labya continues; “In terms of profitability, five out of the top 20 companies reported over 25% growth in net profit, with Novartis (113.5%), Johnson & Johnson (95.9%), AstraZeneca (81.1%), and Novo Nordisk (50.7%) reporting more than 50% growth. Novartis’ growth was driven by its operating income growth and non-recurring favorable tax impacts, with Johnson & Johnson’s growth due to spinning off its consumer health business, now known as Kenvue.”
Meanwhile, 13 players reported YoY decline in profitability, with Merck & Co (-97.5%), Pfizer (-93.2%), Astellas (-82.7%), GSK (-67.1%), AbbVie (-58.9%), and Takeda (-54.6%) reporting more than 50% decline. Merck & Co’s and Pfizer’s sharp decrease in operating income (Merck & Co: -90.1%; Pfizer: -102.6%) and net income (Merck & Co: -97.5%; Pfizer: -93.2%) was attributed to increased R&D investment and plummeting sales of its COVID-19 products, respectively.
Labya concludes: “Following the decline in demand of COVID-19 products, the biopharmaceutical companies that reaped success during the pandemic have lost their top positions to those that have developed obesity drugs in 2023, such as Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Sales for obesity drugs are expected to continue in 2024; however, sales may be limited by supply chain issues due to the surging demand.”
