What is the No. 1 specialty drug in global sales in 2023?

Last year, MSD's immuno-cancer drug "Kytruda" ranked first in sales worldwide.

According to the U.S. Merck (MSD) on the 22nd, Keytruda recorded $25 billion (33.3 trillion) in sales last year, up 19% year-on-year.

Keytruda's revenue accounts for 41% of Merck's total revenue ($601 billion).

Keytruda ranked fifth in global sales with $7.2 billion in sales in 2018, four years after its launch.

Since then, sales have continued to increase, making it the No. 1 drug in global sales as of last year.

According to the top-selling drug data for 2023 released by Drug Discovery & development, Keytruda (US$25 billion), DuPigent (US$23.2 billion), Eliquis (US$19 billion), Cominati (US$15.4 billion), Cominati (US$15.4 billion), Humira (US$14.9 billion), Ozempic (US$13.9 billion), Ailea (US$12.9 billion), Eliquis (US$12.2 billion), Big Tabi (US$11.9 billion) and Stella (US$10.9 billion) (US$10.9 billion) ranked first.

Humira, which was No. 2 in sales as of 2022, fell to No. 5 with its 2023 revenue falling to 32.2% year-over-year due to the expiration of its patent.

The COVID-19 vaccine "Cominati," which was the No. 1 in 2022, plunged 71.5% to rank fourth in sales in 2023.

The additional approval as an early treatment, including triple-negative breast cancer and renal cell cancer, contributed significantly to Keytruda's sales growth, a Merck official said.

[WIKI KOREA=Cho Eun, Reporter]