Since 1996, the pharmaceutical industry has launched 18 products that have subsequently generated peak annual sales of $5 billion or above.
Based on historical company reported sales data, through to 2012, these 18 drugs have generated combined lifetime revenues worth a staggering $942 billion.
Assessing the industry’s biggest ever products by lifetime sales, rather than peak annual performance, further confirms the status of Pfizer's Lipitor as the most commercially successful drug of all time. Over the course of its lifetime, Lipitor has generated global sales of $141 billion – nearly double that of its closest competitor in the list, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi's Plavix. Read more
