5 Most Profitable Drugs In The World

3. Keytruda

2022 Sales: $20.93 billion 

Merck’s Keytruda remained the top-selling cancer drug in 2022, with $20.93 billion in sales and significant year-over-year growth. It outperformed Bristol Myers Squibb’s Revlimid and surpassed their drug Opdivo in sales as well. Keytruda received FDA approval for new uses in gastric and advanced kidney cancer.

The drug’s market is expanding into early cancer treatment, with an estimated 30% of sales in 2025 coming from this market. It also gained FDA approval for high-risk breast cancer and certain kidney diseases. Keytruda showed positive results in a phase 3 trial for non-small cell lung cancer, positioning it favorably against Roche’s Tecentriq. It is also being tested with other drugs, such as Lenvima and Padcev, for various cancer types.