Market share of the leading global pharmaceutical markets 2021

The United States was the largest national pharmaceutical market in 2021, making up roughly 41 percent of total pharmaceutical spending worldwide. China established itself as the second-largest market with a market share of nearly 12 percent.

International differences in drug prices

The worldwide pharmaceutical market was valued at approximately 1.42 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021. Sales of pharmaceuticals in the United States generated around 580 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, over 400 billion U.S. dollars more than any other country. One reason for the disparity between countries is the price of prescription medications: in the United States, the prices of select top drugs increased significantly between 2009 and 2015. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers argue that list prices need to be raised to not only recoup research costs but also to maintain profit margins because of the larger rebates negotiated by pharmacy benefits managers.

Prescription drug prices are a bitter pill to swallow

With an average spend of 1,376 U.S. dollars per person, the United States had the highest pharmaceutical spending per capita worldwide in 2020. Brand name medications are particularly expensive in the country: the average price of Humira in the United States was far higher than in other global markets in 2017. Branded drugs enjoy the protection of patents, and the lack of competition means both manufacturers and pharmacies can charge what the market will bear.