Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 30: The global pharmaceutical industry is entering its biggest patent-expiration wave in decades. More than $500 billion in projected drug sales face patent expiration risk. That exposure extends through 2033, according to research firm Norstella’s recent projections. Blockbuster medicines sit at the center of this mounting industry-wide financial risk. Drug makers are increasingly responding through acquisitions, partnerships and broader growth investments now.
Merck’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda was 2025’s bestselling drug worldwide, according to reports. Its U.S. patent protection is expected to expire during 2028, reports show. Keytruda generated nearly $32 billion in sales throughout 2025, treating numerous cancers. The medicine treats more than twenty different cancer types across global markets.
Novo Nordisk faces the industry’s largest exposure among major pharmaceutical companies today. Roughly 77% of its 2025 sales could lose patent protection by 2033. Much of that exposure stems from Ozempic, its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss medicine. Ozempic alone generated nearly $20 billion in worldwide sales during 2025, company data show.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer share similar exposure through their co-marketed drug. Their blood-thinner Eliquis generated more than $14 billion in combined 2025 sales. That represented roughly 30% of Bristol Myers Squibb’s total reported annual revenue. Eliquis contributed 13% of Pfizer’s total pharmaceutical sales during the same year.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s Revlimid illustrates how companies can sometimes delay generic competition. Its main patent expired in 2019, though lawsuits pushed generics back further. Unrestricted generic competition only eventually arrived in January 2026, seven years later. Revlimid sales still peaked around $12.8 billion during 2021, company records show. AbbVie similarly protected Humira through more than one hundred filed U.S. patents. Biosimilar competitors reached the U.S. market only in 2023, several years later.
Pharmaceutical companies spent roughly $114 billion on dealmaking during the latest quarter. That marked the highest quarterly total since 2019, financial-data provider LSEG reported. Merck, AbbVie and GSK each announced deals exceeding $5 billion since January. Merck’s 2016 partnership with Moderna recently demonstrated significant potential dealmaking rewards clearly. Trial results showing melanoma prevention added over $40 billion to Merck’s valuation. Biotech firms raised nearly $15 billion during the June quarter, the highest since 2021.
Not every major drugmaker faces comparable near-term patent-cliff exposure or financial risk. Eli Lilly stands relatively apart because of its newer GLP-1 drug portfolio. Patents protecting its Mounjaro and Zepbound medicines won’t expire until decade’s end. That later timing gives Lilly considerably more room than several exposed rivals. The patent cliff is ultimately reshaping capital allocation across the pharmaceutical industry. Success will depend on new medicines, partnerships and disciplined commercial execution ahead.
