Worldwide annual spending for prescription drugs has topped $600 billion for the first time ever in 2005.
The United States accounted for more than $250 billion, but the fastest growth was in emerging markets such as China, Russia, South Korea and Mexico, where sales increased an astonishing 81 percent.
New Drugs and Old
Biotech protein drugs, such as new anemia treatments, were among the top sellers in the United States, but were not best-sellers worldwide. However, the market for drugs in this category still grew 17 percent to $53 billion. Most of the worldwide best-selling drugs were traditional "small molecule" drugs.
The Next Blockbuster
While there are many drugs with sales of $1 billion or more, there are few "mega-blockbusters" with sales of $5 billion or more. A hefty 2,300 drugs are currently being tested on humans in an attempt to find the next big seller.