Despite slowing growth, 2007 witnessed the greatest increase in prescription drug sales ever, according to IMS Health data.

Global prescription sales grew to $712 billion in 2007 from $649 billion in 2006. However, the 6.4 percent increase is the lowest rate of sales growth in years, IMS reported April 15.

Worldwide sales trends in 2007 were generally consistent with the previous year as sales growth in emerging markets outpaced those of Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Prescription sales in North America grew 4.2 percent to $304.5 billion in 2007, compared to growth of 8 percent in 2006.

The U.S. experienced only 3.8 percent sales growth, and IMS is forecasting annual sales growth between 3 percent and 6 percent through 2012 (¹ Also see "Drug Safety Concerns Help Depress U.S. Sales Forecasts From IMS Health" - Pink Sheet, 17 March, 2008., p. 18).

"The United States is still the largest single market at $286.5 billion," the market research firm stated. "However, it contributed only 25.5 percent of the total growth to the global market in 2007 - the lowest-ever level of contribution," IMS reported.

As a result, North America accounted for 45.9 percent of global sales in 2007, down from 47.7 percent. By contrast, Europe accounted for 31.1 percent of sales, up from 29.9 percent the prior year.

European drug sales increased 6.9 percent in 2007, up from 4.8 percent in 2006, but growth was not evenly distributed across the region.

"Across the five major European markets, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, aggregate growth was 4.8 percent; the total market expanded to $140 billion," IMS said.

Other European markets "are now $81.6 billion in size, and expanded by 10.9 percent in 2007. Among these markets, Russia (20.2 percent) and Turkey (17.2 percent) reflect the largest growth."

Drug sales growth resumed in Japan, which had 2007 sales of $65.2 billion, following a minor decline in 2006.

"The Japanese pharmaceutical market grew 3.6 percent in 2007, higher than the compound annual growth rate of the prior five years, reflecting limited impact from its biennial price cuts which occurred April 1, 2006 and will reoccur on April 1, 2008."

Less developed pharmaceutical markets demonstrated faster sales growth last year due primarily to macroeconomic trends.

Asian markets excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand, "grew collectively by 13.3 percent and now represent 11 percent of the total global market," IMS said, adding that, "China, Korea and India grew by 25.7 percent, 10.7 percent and 13 percent respectively in 2007."

Sales in Latin American markets grew 11.6 percent in 2007 to $42.4 billion as "Brazil, a $15.7 billion market, grew by 9.7 percent, while Mexico grew at a 7.5 percent pace, reaching a total size of $11.1 billion," IMS observed.

Plavix Is Most Improved In 2007

Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis' antithrombotic Plavix (clopidogrel) experienced the largest sales increase for a single product in 2007.

After global sales declined 3.4 percent in 2006 to $5.8 billion, the product had a major turnaround, posting a 20.5 percent increase with sales of $7.3 billion the following year.

With that performance, Plavix became the second-best-selling product worldwide. Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin) remains the world's top-selling drug by a wide margin with $13.5 billion in sales in 2007.

Global sales of the statin dropped 2.8 percent after increasing 4.2 percent in 2006. Much of the decline resulted from a drop in the U.S. market, from $8.7 billion in 2006 to $8.1 billion in 2007.

Pfizer's antihypertensive Norvasc (amlodipine), which recorded the fifth-highest sales in 2006, fell from the global top 10 as its marketing exclusivity expired in the U.S.

Wyeth's antidepressant Effexor (venlafaxine) also failed to make the cut in 2007.

AstraZeneca's atypical antipsychotic Seroquel (quetiapine) and Merck's asthma therapy Singulair (montelukast) join the list in eighth and ninth place with sales of $4.6 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively (see chart: " ² On Top Of The World ").

Lilly's Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal (risperidone) ranked among the world's top products in 2007, but the atypical antipsychotics are not among the highest selling in the U.S.

Despite that, antipsychotics are the third-highest-selling therapeutic category in the U.S., whereas globally the category ranks sixth with 3.1 percent of total sales.

Cancer Drugs Are Top Category For First Time

Drug sales were led by oncologics for the first time in 2007, representing 6.2 percent of global pharmaceutical sales. Sales of cancer drugs continued to surge in 2007, growing 16.2 percent over 2006 to $41.4 billion.

In 2006, global sales of oncology drugs were 20.5 percent higher than the previous year, representing the fastest growth of any major therapeutic category.

Oncologics displace lipid-lowering drugs as the top-selling therapeutic category worldwide. In 2007, sales of lipid regulators fell 6.7 percent in 2007 to $33.7 billion, representing 5.1 percent of global sales. By contrast, the previous year lipid-lowering drugs brought in $35.2 billion, an increase of 7.5 percent, accounting for 5.8 percent of prescription sales.

As in 2006, respiratory agents, acid pump inhibitors and antidiabetics were the next-best-selling therapeutic categories of medications.

Antipsychotics moved ahead of antidepressants as the sixth-best-selling drug category, both of which are followed by angiotensin receptor blockers and antiepileptics.

Autoimmune agents join the top 10 in 2007 due to a decline for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. ESAs, the ninth-largest therapeutic class in 2006, fell from the list after safety concerns caused sales to drop; Amgen's Aranesp (darbepoetin) was the only top product other than Lipitor to experience a sales decline in 2007. After global sales of the anemia therapy increased 35.6 percent in 2006, they declined 12.9 percent to $4.4 billion in 2007.

Of the top 10 therapeutic categories in 2007, only lipid regulators and antidepressants experienced sales declines.

In addition to oncologics, the fastest growing major categories were autoimmune agents, up 20.3 percent over 2006 sales; ARBs, turning in 13.6 percent growth in 2007; and antiepileptics, which advanced 13.5 percent.

- Brian Marson (b.marson@elsevier.com)

Plavix, Oncologics Are Top Global Growth Stories Of 2007, IMS Reports

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