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"We are quickly approaching the milestone of $500 billion for the global pharmaceutical industry," said Murray Aitken, IMS Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy. "Passing that milestone will reflect the success of the industry in bringing medical innovation to the market, and the increased access to patients of products that enhance the length and quality of life."

Latin American sales recover

North America, Europe (the 15 member states of the European Union) and Japan accounted for 88% of audited worldwide pharmaceutical sales in 2003. Setting the pace among the leading regions, North American pharmaceutical sales grew 11% to $229.5 billion, representing almost half of all global sales in 2003. The EU experienced solid sales growth of 8%, to $115.4 billion; the rest of Europe experienced sales growth of 14%, to $14.3 billion.

Japan saw year-over-year growth of 3%, to reach $52.4 billion in pharmaceutical sales. Sales in the improving economy of the Latin American region rose 6% to $17.4 billion in 2003 - a sharp turnaround from a decline of 10% in 2002. Pharmaceutical sales in Asia (excluding Japan), Africa and Australia amounted to $37.3 billion, up 12% year-over-year.

2003 Global pharma sales by region

"The global pharmaceutical industry continued to grow at a solid pace in 2003, despite difficult economic conditions and continued pressure on the sector from regulators, the media and payors," said Graham Lewis, IMS Vice President, Strategic Consulting. "The US continues to generate the highest growth, and we continue to see solid sales results in Europe and Asia. The pace of growth in Japan has accelerated, while the Latin America market shows signs of improvement. An increasingly robust drug development pipeline, ageing populations, and the ongoing demand for innovative therapies are driving forces behind this global growth."

"Looking at the global pharma landscape, the Chinese market continues to grow significantly and now represents an important strategic market for the industry," added Lewis. "It is important to note that despite the growth rates achieved by generics in 2003, total growth of the global pharma market still remained close to 10%. For the past several years generics have remained at about 4-5% of total pharma sales."

Leading therapy classes

The top ten therapy classes accounted for 30% of the total audited world market in 2003. Four of the leading ten - cholesterol & triglyceride reducers, antipsychotics, erythropoietin products and anti-epileptics (anticonvulsants) - each grew more than 10% year-over-year, with anti-epileptics up 22% and antipsychotics up 20%. The strong growth of the anti-epileptics knocked ACE inhibitors out of the top ten rankings, coinciding as it did with the full impact of patent expiry for several of the antihypertensives.

For the first time in 14 years, cholesterol & triglyceride reducers moved ahead of anti-ulcerants as the leading therapeutic class worldwide, with sales of $26.1 billion last year, an increase of 14%. Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin), again the world’s number one drug, accounted for $10.3 billion (39%) of sales in the cholesterol & triglyceride reducer category, which is dominated by statins but also includes fenofibrates and Schering-Plough and Merck & Co's new cholesterol absorption inhibitor, Zetia (ezetimibe).

The loss of the top spot for anti-ulcerants was mainly linked to the launch of generic omeprazole (AstraZeneca's Prilosec) in the US in December 2002: until 2000, Prilosec/Losec was the world's top-selling product. In general, growth of the other members of the proton pump inhibitor class for ulcers, GERD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) and heartburn was healthy: the anti-ulcerants class saw a 9% increase in sales in 2003 to $24.3 billion.

Leading therapy classes in 2003 global pharmaceutical sales

Antidepressants/mood stabilisers was again the third-ranked therapy class, with sales up 10% last year, to $19.5 billion, and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) maintained their number four position. The antipsychotics, for schizophrenia and now increasingly bipolar disorder, moved up one position to fifth place, displacing calcium antagonists, for hypertension.

Leading products

The top ten best-selling drugs worldwide accounted for $48.3 billion in sales last year, a 14% increase over 2002. Within the total audited world market, Lipitor was the top-selling drug in 2003, with another statin, Merck & Co's Zocor (simvastatin), repeating its second-place ranking from 2002 with $6.1 billion in sales, though this was a decline of 4% from 2002; the statin has recently lost exclusivity in a number of European markets.

Of the ten best-selling drugs in 2003, the fastest-growing worldwide was AstraZeneca's GERD therapy Nexium (esomeprazole), making its first appearance on the top ten chart at number seven, with sales rising 62% year-over-year to $3.8 billion. Its heady growth reflects the determination and success of AstraZeneca's marketing campaign to persuade physicians and patients to use Nexium in lieu of its first-generation product Prilosec, which is now available as a generic product in many countries. Prilosec/Losec rapidly dropped out of the top ten rankings, having been the number three product in 2002.

Another patent casualty was GlaxoSmithKline's antidepressant Paxil/Seroxat (paroxetine), which was ranked no.8 in 2002. Pfizer's Zoloft (sertraline), which maintained its tenth place, is now the world's top branded antidepressant following the loss of exclusivity for Paxil and Lilly's Prozac (fluoxetine). GSK, however, had a new entry in the shape of asthma drug Seretide/Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol), which reached the no.9 position. And Pfizer didn't have it all its own way: as sales dipped for arthritis drug Celebrex (celecoxib), ranked ninth in 2002, it gave way to Sanofi-Synthelabo and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Plavix (clopidogrel), a platelet anti-aggregant that went straight in at no.8.