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The 50 best-selling pharmaceuticals of 2022: COVID-19 vaccines poised to take a step back

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the best-selling pharmaceuticals, leading to shifts in the list with Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty surpassing AbbVie’s Humira for the No. 1 spot in 2021. That momentum continued in 2022, with Pfizer and BioNTech jointly raking in $59.1 billion in revenue from the sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although Comirnaty maintained its position as the best-selling pharmaceutical of 2022, it experienced a roughly 5% drop in sales compared to the previous year.

As the best-selling pharmaceuticals of 2022 demonstrate, signs are emerging that the reign of COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies appears to be slipping.. The two companies — and Moderna — plan on hiking prices to address the weakening demand.

Humira: The second best-selling pharmaceutical of 2022 looking strong

Meanwhile, the heavyweight tumor necrosis factor (TNF) block…

FDA approves first microencapsulated benzoyl peroxide for rosacea

Image courtesy of Sol-Gel/Galderma

Sol-Gel (Nasdaq:SLGL) and Galderma have announced that it has won FDA approval for Epsolay cream, a proprietary topical formulation of benzoyl peroxide, 5%, for treating inflammatory rosacea lesions.

Rosacea is a common condition, but experts have struggled to estimate its global prevalence. A 2018 estimate in the British Journal of Dermatology concluded that the condition affects between 5% and 46% of the adult population.

Galderma and Sol-Gel report that Epsolay Cream is the only topical treatment shown to relieve bumps and blemishes associated with rosacea.

Galderma, the world’s largest independent dermatology company, will commercialize the cream in the U.S.

First prepared in 1958, benzoyl peroxide is widely used as an over-the-counter topical acne treatment.

Epsolay cream is encapsulated within patented silica shells that steadily release be…

Novartis shares dip after announcing disappointing Q4 results

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) posted fourth-quarter results today that trailed the consensus forecast.

The Basel, Switzerland–based company reported a $2.1 billion net income, an 86% increase in Q4 2019. Earnings per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $1.34 per share on revenue of $12.8 billion.

Analysts had anticipated earnings of $1.36 per share.

Still, there is room for optimism.

In an earnings call, Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan said the company had achieved “solid operational performance over the past three years,” after revamping its strategy in 2018. Net sales from 2017 to 2020 have grown 5% annually while its Innovative Medicines division achieved a 35% growth rate in 2020.

“We have a leading pipeline across 10 therapeutic areas [and], four advanced therapy platforms,” Narasimhan added.

Novartis has enacted a series of cost-savings measures that has enabled the company to save $2 billion in cost over the past three years. T…