For years, cardio was king. The world's all-time best-selling drug,
Pfizer's Lipitor, after all, is an antihyperlipidemic drug. Cardio drugs have traditionally
made up one of the largest categories of therapeutic treatment in the drug
universe.
According to EvaluatePharma's World Preview 2018 report, combined sales of antihypertensive
drugs and antihyperlipidemics were more than $70 billion in 2011. That would
put them at the top of the heap. Sales of antihypertensive drugs alone were
more than $40 billion that year, making them the second-largest therapy area
defined by the report, behind oncology drugs at $64.4 billion. The list,
compiled by EvaluatePharma, includes the theraputic areas categorized as
cardio, so it does not include some products sometimes used for heart disease
but not in that therapeutic area, including blood thinners like Plavix.
But many of the top cardio drugs are long in the tooth, and generics are
now eating their lunch. Did I mention Lipitor? Sales cratered last year,
falling nearly 60%. Despite that, the drug placed third among the top 10 cardio
drugs of 2012, a reminder of the stature it had achieved. Four of the top 10
have lost patent protection in the last two years, and most will be off patent
by 2016, with only Merck's Vytorin protected until 2017.
Last year, the top 10 cardio drugs racked up sales of $28.644 billion, down
23% from the $37.271 billion they sold in 2011. Still, the group has made a lot
of money for its companies for years and, in some cases, completely changed the
treatment of heart disease.
It is an interesting list. Only Merck has two drugs in the top 10. The
other drugmakers make up a broad swath of the pharma industry. Read our report
below, and if you have some insights you would like to share, please do.