Top cancer drugs based on revenue worldwide 2021

In 2021, Merck & Co.’s Keytruda generated over 17 billion U.S. dollars, making it the number one ranking cancer drug worldwide in terms of revenue. Other oncology products among the top ten included Revlimid, Opdivo, and Imbruvica.

Pharmaceutical outlook

In 2026, the top pharmaceutical product (in terms of revenue) is projected to be Keytruda. Worldwide revenue for this drug is expected to reach nearly 27 billion U.S. dollars that year. Pharmaceutical sales numbers are forecast to be the highest in North America in 2024. It is predicted that sales numbers will reach over 700 billion U.S. dollars, which is more than double the sales numbers expected from the runner-up, the European Union (including the UK).

Cancer cases by gender

Specific types of cancer are more common among certain genders. Worldwide, breast cancer accounted for approximately a quarter of all new cancer cases among females of all ages in 2020. Colorectal cancer was the second most common type for women. For men, lung and prostate cancer were the most common that year. Over 14 percent of new male cases, involved lung cancer, while about the same percentage were prostate cancer cases.