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The Architecture Of A Blockbuster

Blockbusters Are A Rare Breed That Dominate The Strategic Outlook Of Many Big Pharmas

 
• By Markus Thunecke, Lina Zárate, and Christoph Oldenburg

Blockbuster status has long been the ultimate goal of drug development, defined as a sales potential of more than $1bn. The economics of drug development, and in fact of the entire biopharma industry, very much rely on these few gems that provide the returns to compensate for the long development pathway and often several billion dollars of investment per new molecular entity.

Gold moth
• Source: Shutterstock

Mega blockbusters (in this study defined as >$10bn) such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) or Humira (adalimumab) can completely determine the fate of even the largest big pharma. According to analyst consensus Keytruda is roughly responsible for two-thirds of Merck & Co., Inc.’s share price. And even though the key patents on Humira have run out and biosimilars are available, the drug still makes up 28% of AbbVie Inc.’s share price. Also, Celgene as a company was built largely on the back of one mega blockbuster, Revlimid (lenalidomide), and though Celgene is now part of Bristol Myers Squibb Company and generics are expected in 2022, the drug is still responsible for one-fifth of its share price.

As important as blockbusters may be, they are also exceedingly rare. In fact, only 0.5% of drugs that were launched...

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