Matej Mikulic
Research expert covering health, pharma & medtech
Novartis - Statistics & Facts
In 2022, Swiss-based Novartis was the fourth largest pharmaceutical company worldwide based on revenue from prescription drugs. In 2023, Novartis made 45.5 billion U.S. dollars of revenue in total, a significant decrease compared to the previous year. This was mainly due to the spin-off of its generic drugs unit Sandoz during the year. The company made several significant restructuring measures since 2015, so that today there are only two major core businesses left.
U.S and Europe are the key
Novartis is divided into two segments: Promoted brands (formerly Innovative Medicines) and Established brands. Promoted brands is responsible for the largest part of the total revenue – nearly 32 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. From a regional point of view, Novartis generates the overwhelming part of its revenue in the United States and in Europe. In 2023, about 18 billion U.S. dollars were generated in the United States and some 15 billion dollars in Europe. Among Novartis’ top products are immunomodulating agent Cosentyx and cardiovascular drug Entresto.Research and development
Almost 11.4 billion U.S. dollars – one quarter of Novartis’ total revenue – was spent on research and development in 2023. R&D is a major issue for top pharmaceutical companies because patent expirations can lead to massive revenue losses. Thus, only new medicines with at least a few years of exclusivity can ensure progress and profit. Looking a few years into the future, Piqray, a PI3K alpha inhitor aimed to treat cancer, is estimated to have the largest potential among Novartis' current R&D projects.
