13 of top 20 biopharma companies by revenue report over 10 per cent YoY revenue growth from 2020 to 2021: GlobalData

The majority of the top 20 innovative biopharma companies reported an increase in their revenue in 2021, with an aggregate revenue of $846.8 billion and a growth of $166.4 billion over 2020, according to a GlobalData report.

The top 13 players reported more than 10 per cent Year on-Year (YoY) revenue growth from 2020 to 2021, while the top four biopharma companies reported over 80 per cent YoY revenue growth from 2020 to 2021. These included BioNTech (3834.4 per cent), Moderna (2199.1 per cent), Pfizer (95.2 per cent) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (89.1 per cent).

Commenting on the report, Sharon Cartic, MSc, Associate Director, Business Fundamentals, GlobalData, said, “Owing to the huge global sales of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the split in profits between Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty contributed towards revenues of $81.3 billion and $22.4 billion in 2021, respectively. Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax also contributed to the company’s $18.5 billion in revenue for 2021. Regeneron’s windfall of $16.1 billion in revenue for 2021 was largely due to its COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy, REGEN-COV, however, due to its ineffectiveness against the Omicron variant, its success is expected to be short-lived.

According to the report, COVID-19 Analyst Consensus Sales Analysis and Forecast, H1 2022’, Comirnaty is the leading prophylactic COVID-19 vaccine and recorded sales of $41.3 billion in 2021 and Moderna’s Spikevax saw sales of $17.7 billion in 2021. Pfizer reaped $36.8 billion from Comirnaty, which is the highest revenue generated from COVID-19 vaccine sales globally. Vaccine sales helped Pfizer to finish second in the top 20 list, with a YoY revenue growth of 95.2 per cent.

Further, AbbVie reported a 22.7 per cent YoY growth in revenue during the same period due to its robust pipeline, with Humira topping over $20 billion sales in 2021, according to GlobalData’s Drugs Database. Upcoming biosimilar competition for Humira means AbbVie’s focus may turn to Rinvoq, which was approved in the US for atopic dermatitis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, and Skyrizi, which has been approved in the US for psoriatic arthritis and plaque psoriasis.

Bristol-Myers Squibb documented a 9.1 per cent increase in revenue from 2020 to 2021 owing to sales of Revlimid, its multiple myeloma therapy, with a global analyst consensus sales forecast of $12.8 billion for 2021, according to GlobalData’s Drugs Database.

Cartic commented, “Amgen reported only a marginal 2.2 per cent YoY revenue growth to $26.0 billion in 2021. However, the FDA approval of Lumakras for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in May 2021 has a global analyst consensus sales forecast of $336 million in 2022, according to GlobalData’s Drugs Database.”

All the top 20 innovative bio/pharma companies recorded a positive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in revenue during 2017–21. Eight of the top companies indicated growth in their revenue over the past five years, with BioNTech (319 per cent) and Moderna (208 per cent) leading the list with a more than 200 per cent CAGR.

Other notable players with more than 10 per cent CAGR in revenue include Regeneron Pharma (28.6% per cent), Bristol-Myers Squibb (22.2 per cent), Takeda Pharma (19.2 per cent), AbbVie (18.8 per cent), AstraZeneca (13.6 per cent) and Pfizer (11.5 per cent), fuelled by a series of inorganic and organic growth initiatives.

The companies recording more than 100 per cent YoY operating income growth in 2021 include BioNTech (18644.5 per cent) and Moderna (1842.3 per cent), resulting from the demand in COVID-19 vaccines.

The other notable players with high operating income were Bristol-Myers Squibb (225.8 per cent), Pfizer (202.8 per cent), Merck & Co (152.1 per cent), Gilead Sciences (143.6 per cent) and Bayer (120.7 per cent). However, increased operating costs triggered a more than 10 per cent YoY decline in the operating profit of AstraZeneca (-79.5 per cent), Sanofi (-42.4 per cent), Takeda Pharma (-25.9 per cent), GSK (-20.8 per cent), and Amgen (-16.4 per cent).

In terms of profitability, 13 players reported positive YoY growth in net profit, with BioNTech (67622.7 per cent), Gilead Sciences (4961 per cent) and Moderna (1733.3 per cent) reporting more than 1000 per cent YoY growth fueled by high revenue and a decline in expenses.

Novartis reported almost 200 per cent YoY net income growth and benefitted from a gain of $14.6 billion related to the divestment of its investment in Roche. AstraZeneca (-96.5 per cent), Sanofi (-49.4 per cent), Takeda Pharma (-38.8 per cent), GSK (-23.7 per cent) and Amgen (-18.9 per cennt) reported a YoY decline in their net income.

During 2017–21, revenue growth, combined with improved operational performance and reduction in expenses, led to a more than 50 per cent increase in the net profit CAGR of J&J (100.2 per cent), Bristol-Myers Squibb (62.3 per cent), Regeneron Pharma (61.1 per cent) and Merck & Co (52.8 per cent).

Cartic concluded, “The top biopharmaceutical companies that developed effective vaccines for COVID-19 during the pandemic reaped success in 2021. Demand for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics for new variants may still be required in 2022 onwards. However, other challenges facing biopharmaceutical companies include the growing generic drug competition, which places pressure on drug prices.”