This following list has the top 10 drugs that have the potential to be game-changers in the field of medicine and provide new hope for patients with serious diseases.
They are ranked by the projected USD sales in billions.
| Drug | Company | Disease | Projected sales (billion USD) | Mechanism of action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keytruda | Merck & Co. | Cancer | 24 | Immunotherapy drug that blocks the PD-1 protein, which helps cancer cells evade the immune system. |
| Comirnaty/Covid-19 vaccine | Pfizer | COVID-19 | 19 | Vaccine that uses mRNA technology to teach the body’s cells how to make the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. |
| Humira | AbbVie | Rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases | 13.5 | Biologic drug that blocks the activity of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), a protein that causes inflammation. |
| Paxlovid | Pfizer | COVID-19 | 13 | Antiviral drug that blocks the activity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzyme, which is essential for the virus to replicate. |
| Dupixent | Sanofi | Atopic dermatitis, allergic conditions | 12 | Biologic drug that blocks the activity of the IL-4 and IL-13 proteins, which are involved in the development of allergic reactions. |
| Rituxan | Genentech | Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, other cancers | 11 | Biologic drug that targets and destroys B cells, a type of white blood cell that can become cancerous. |
| Stelara | Janssen | Psoriasis, ulcerative colitis | 10 | Biologic drug that blocks the activity of the IL-12 and IL-23 proteins, which are involved in the development of psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. |
| Spinraza | Biogen | Spinal muscular atrophy | 9 | Injectable drug that delivers a gene into the spinal cord to help produce a protein that is essential for muscle function. |
| Gleevec | Novartis | Chronic myeloid leukemia, other cancers | 8 | Targeted therapy drug that blocks the activity of the BCR-ABL protein, which is found in cells with chronic myeloid leukemia. |
| Avastin | Genentech | Cancer | 7 | Anti-angiogenesis drug that blocks the growth of new blood vessels, which are needed by tumors to grow. |