[Newsmp] In the midst of stagnant growth for major pharmaceutical companies, the oncology division appears to be performing well.
According to reports from major pharmaceutical companies, the oncology sector of major pharmaceutical companies experienced a boom in the third quarter, with most companies seeing double-digit growth.
Capitalizing on the success of its blockbuster drug Keytruda, MSD has further cemented its leadership in the global oncology market by steadily broadening its lineup.
MSD's third-quarter revenue increased 16.9% year-over-year to KRW 9.25 trillion, surpassing KRW 9 trillion. (Based on the exchange rate on November 10)
Nine-month cumulative revenue of MSD reached about KRW 27 trillion, up 18.2% from the same period last year, approaching the KRW 30 trillion mark. During this period, Keytruda generated KRW 24.3 trillion in revenue.
Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) and AstraZeneca's oncology divisions, which both exceeded KRW 5 trillion in the third quarter of last year, also recorded double-digit growth rates, and their quarterly revenue approached KRW 6 trillion.
In the first nine months of the year, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) and AstraZeneca's oncology divisions generated similar cumulative revenue of KRW 17.2 trillion and KRW 16.8 trillion, respectively.
Novartis and Lilly's oncology businesses both reported growth rates of around 30% in the third quarter of last year.
Novartis' oncology unit experienced a significant surge in revenue, growing by more than 20% to reach over KRW 4.5 trillion in the third quarter.
In the same period, Lilly's revenue increased by 35.1% from KRW 1.7 trillion to KRW 2.3 trillion.
Novartis's cumulative revenue for the first nine months of the year increased by 23.7% to KRW 13.3 trillion, while Lilly's cumulative revenue increased by 18.9% to KRW 6.3 trillion.
GSK's oncology division also recorded growth of nearly 30% in the third quarter, but quarterly revenue was KRW 330 billion.
In contrast to other major pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and AbbVie have had some difficulties in the oncology business.
Pfizer's oncology division reported a revenue decline of 6.0% year-on-year in the third quarter, reaching KRW 3.8096 trillion, and AbbVie also saw a reduction, with revenue contracting to around KRW 2 trillion, down by 8.4%.
