Report: Pharmaceutical sales to grow 5.1% on average through 2020

LONDON — Worldwide prescription drug sales are expected to exceed the trillion dollar mark by 2020, according to Evaluate's "World Preview 2014, Outlook to 2020" report released Wednesday. Evaluate projects the pharma industry to grow, on average, 5.1% per year from 2013 to 2020. 

Biologicals will make up 52% of the top 100 prescription and OTC drug sales in 2020, Evaluate reported. Oncology will set record high growth with an 11.2% compound annual growth rate to 2020. Novartis is expected to remain the top company by global drug sales in 2020, Evaluate reported. Teva Pharmaceuticals was the leading generic drug maker in 2013. 

“This much improved growth outlook comes as welcome news after two years of actual sales stagnation,” stated Paul Hills, report author and Evaluate’s head of operations. “While the patent cliff is now but a distant memory, a new debate over drug pricing is stirring up controversy. This will only intensify as the industry continues to shift away from primary care and new technology waves offer innovative products that potentially take costs out of healthcare.”

The “World Preview 2014, Outlook to 2020” report, based on market intelligence and consensus forecasts from EvaluatePharma, can be downloaded at Evaluategroup.com/wp2014, the company stated.