Matej Mikulic
Research expert covering health, pharma & medtech
Novartis - Statistics & Facts
In 2023, Swiss-based Novartis was the third-largest pharmaceutical company worldwide based on revenue from prescription drugs. In 2024, Novartis made 50.3 billion U.S. dollars of revenue in total, a significant increase compared to the previous year. The decline in revenue during 2023 was mainly due to the spin-off of its generic drugs unit, Sandoz. The company has made several significant restructuring measures since 2015, so that today Novartis is focused on innovative and established branded products.
The U.S. and Europe are the key
Novartis is currently divided mainly into diseases, or therapeutic areas, and Established brands. Oncology is responsible for the largest single part of the total revenue, with 29 percent of the 2024 revenue. From a regional point of view, Novartis generates the overwhelming part of its revenue in the United States and in Europe. In 2024, about 21 billion U.S. dollars were generated in the United States and some 15.6 billion dollars in Europe. Among Novartis’ top products are cardiovascular drug Entresto and immunomodulating agent Cosentyx.A race for the future
Around 10 billion U.S. dollars — one fifth of Novartis’ total revenue — was spent on research and development in 2024. R&D is a major issue for top pharmaceutical companies because patent expirations can lead to massive revenue losses. Thus, only new medicines with a few years of exclusivity can ensure progress and profit. Looking into the near future, Piqray, a PI3K alpha inhibitor aimed at treating cancer, is estimated to have the largest potential among Novartis' current R&D projects. Novartis is also among the leading big pharma players when it comes to the adoption of artificial intelligence, therefore preparing for the next challenges in drug discovery and innovation.Matej Mikulic
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Feb 4, 2025
Matej Mikulic
Research expert covering health, pharma & medtech
