As healthcare systems grapple with rising costs and the need for broader access to treatment, off-patent medicines have taken on increasing importance. With budgets under pressure and blockbuster drugs losing exclusivity, the generics market is on track to reach USD 600 billion by 2033, with these five players leading the way.
1. Sandoz
Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
2024 Financial Results: Total net sales of USD 10.4 billion; generics net sales of USD 7.5 billion, up 2 percent from the previous year
The Swiss giant Sandoz has established itself as a pure-play off-patent firm since its spinout from Novartis in 2023. Not only has the company become a solid standalone generics maker, it has also doubled down on biosimilars and taken a lead in that area. Sandoz reported strong progress in 2024 thanks to double-digit growth in biosimilars with several product launches. Its multiple sclerosis biosimilar natalizumab, launched last year, is now available in 11 markets, while its plaque psoriasis treatment, ustekinumab, has been rolled out in 20.
Generics account for 70 percent of the company’s net sales through a portfolio of some 1,300 products, but Sandoz also now has 28 molecules in its biosimilars pipeline, seven of which are under regulatory review. Going forward, the firm is looking to further strengthen its biosimilars position, particularly in the US, and last year acquired ranibizumab-eqrn from the American company Coherus BioSciences.
Sandoz has also been working on building efficiency and last year achieved a planned reduction from 18 to 15 internal manufacturing sites, while increasing capacity at its remaining sites through extensions. At the same time, the drugmaker is consolidating its network of external suppliers, eliminating some 100 finished-dosage-form suppliers.
2. Teva
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
2024 Financial Results: Revenues of USD 16.5 billion, an increase of 4 percent with respect to 2023
After an extended debt crisis arising from its USD 45 billion acquisition of Actavis in 2016 and a string of CEO changes, Teva appears to be back on track. Claiming second place among the world’s generics leaders, Teva saw its second consecutive year of growth in 2024 with revenues of USD 16.5 billion, an increase of 4 percent compared to 2023. Teva’s progress was largely due to higher revenues from its generics products, including its relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) therapy lenalidomide, and its flagship movement disorders drug Austedo XR.
The Israeli company’s “Pivot to Growth” strategy that was put in place at the beginning of the year, appears to have paid off. Under the new strategy, Teva is no longer focusing purely on commodity generics, but on its innovative assets as it also continues to grow its base generic business. As a result, the firm’s 2024 R&D spending saw an increase of 5 percent compared to the previous year, reaching USD 998 million. The spend went mainly to immunology and in immuno-oncology, its late-stage innovative pipeline in neuroscience, and Teva’s biosimilars pipeline.
The company also had a couple of biosimilars wins in 2024 – the FDA approval of its Humira (adalimumab) and Stelara (ustekinumab) biosilimars – both developed in partnership with the Iceland-based biotech Alvotech.
3. Viatris
Headquarters: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
2024 Financial Results: Total Revenues of USD 14.7 billion
Created in 2020 when titans Mylan and Upjohn joined forces, Viatris remains among the world’s top generics players with total revenues of USD 14.7 billion in 2024, representing an operational revenue growth of 2 percent. Having launched a growth plan in 2022 after its revenues began to slide, the firm focused on strengthening its pipeline and divesting certain non-core areas of the business. Viatris shed its biosimilars unit, selling it to former partner company Biocon, and then went on to divest its OTC arm last year, as well as its active pharmaceutical ingredient business.
Apart from skimming off these areas to focus on its main business, Viatris has also been looking towards dealmaking. Its USD 350 million deal with the Swiss company Idorsia brought two of its phase III assets onboard, selatogrel, a acute myocardial infarction (AMI) med, and cenerimod for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These potential blockbusters add to Viatris’ 250 some core generics and approximately 250 complex generics in development or under regulatory review.
One recent snag for Viatris was its site in Indore, India, which was called out by the FDA for several infractions, leading to restricted US imports of 11 products produced there.
4. Sun Pharma
Headquarters: Mumbai, India
2024 Financial Results: Total turnover USD 5,77 billion
Indian pharma powerhouse Sun Pharma with its over 40 years of history holds a place among the foremost global generics companies. India’s largest pharma company with no less than 43 manufacturing facilities, Sun offers generics and branded generics globally while also maintaining its specialty medicines, OTC, and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) divisions. Sun saw a 10.4 growth in its 2024 revenues compared to 2023.
Highlights from Sun’s recent approvals and launches include its Ilumya/Ilumetri for plaque psoriasis, which was included in China’s National Reimbursement Drug List last year, and Winlevi, a topical treatment for acne vulgaris that has been launched in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Last year, Sun finally entered into a definitive merger agreement with Israeli off-patent dermatology outfit Taro, of which it already owned 78.5 percent. And in a more recent deal, Sun has made a USD 355 play for the the Massachusetts biotech Checkpoint Therapeutics, giving it access to Unloxcyt, an FDA-approved therapy for advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
5. Shanghai Fosun Pharma
Headquarters: Shanghai, China
2023 Financial Results: Total sales of USD 4.25 billion
The pharma division of Chinese conglomerate Fosun, Shanghai Fosun Pharma, develops generics, biosimilars, OTC products, APIs, as well as some innovative drugs. While the company emphasises innovation, generics remain a significant component of its portfolio with 27 generic drugs approved in the Chinese Mainland/Hong Kong, China, and the United States.
In a bid to boost its biosimilars position, last year Fosun moved to buy out its subsidiary Henlius Biotech. Henlius has launched several biosimilars, including the first China-approved biosimilar, a version of Roche’s oncology drug Rituxan. However, due to a failed shareholder vote, the merger did not go through.
This ranking, taken in part from Citeline’s Generics Bulletin Top 50 Ranking for 2024 and available company information is not an exhaustive list.
