Fast biologic sales may see European Pharma cross US Firms

The worldwide pharmaceutical sector is going through a major overhaul that is most definitely going to shape its future. It is estimated that by 2028, European pharma companies are going to leave their US counterparts behind when it comes to sales.

This shift, which is by all means transformative in the international market dynamics, is pushed by the fast biologic sales growth, which is, as a matter of fact, anticipated to be a major driver in broadening the total revenue of the sector, as per the insights from GlobalData. The transforming landscape underlines an incredible shift when it comes to the sector’s dynamics, with four in five companies by overall sales expected to come from Europe.

The pharma analyst at GlobalData, Kevin Marcaida, stated that Johnson & Johnson, which happens to be holding the second position in total sales for 2023, is anticipated to go through a market share loss because of its European rivals.

Pharma giants like Roche, Merck, and Sanofi are expected to outperform when it comes to sales, highlighting the consistent surge of European pharma companies.

Within the frontrunners, Roche is expected to lead the group in terms of total sales, driven by the success of its innovative drugs such as Tecentiq, a lung cancer drug, and the multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, which is expected to bring about impressive sales numbers of $7.7 billion and $9.2 billion, respectively, in 2028.

GlobalData goes on to forecast that European pharma firms may demonstrate impressive growth rates, with the top six fastest-growing ones in terms of overall sales all originating from Europe. Significantly, Novo Nordisk is anticipated to have a prominent growth rate of 62% between 2023 and 2028.

As per Marcaida, this unmatched growth can very well be attributed to the success of the Semaglutide portfolio, which includes drugs from the likes of Wegovy, Rybelsus, and Ozempic, all of which are expected to generate whopping sales of $154.1 billion till 2028.

Apart from this, the biologic sales growth is anticipated to play a critical role in driving the total sales’ expansion. The forecasts shed light on the fact that biologic sales are going to experience an incredible 39% surge, thereby overtaking the 24% growth rate when it comes to total sales through 2028.

European pharma companies happen to be in a great position to capitalise on portfolios of biologics, thereby outperforming their US counterparts when it comes to sales. Pharma giant Roche, at present, leads the pack in biologics sales with an anticipated revenue of $43.7 billion by 2023’s end. That said, as one looks at the future, Roche may as well face stiff competition from Merck while Novo Nordisk and Sanofi start consistently narrowing the performance gap.

Marcaida said that aiding European regulatory measures, which go on to prioritise patient access to innovative treatments, is believed to push the surge when it comes to biologics sales. The embracement of health technology assessments in European nations goes on to offer an objective assessment of clinical advancement and also value pharma products like biologics.

All these assessments go on to play a critical role in market access decisions as well as reimbursement, hence making sure of a fair biologics’ evaluation and most probably incentivizing European companies to create and also commercialise the products.