There were 15 unique therapeutic areas represented among blockbuster drugs in 2023, including one solely for dogs.

A therapeutic area describes the type of diseases treated by a molecule. For example, oncology is the therapeutic area for cancer drugs, whereas cardiometabolic treatments include things like insulin and obesity medications.

Therapeutics for oncology (39/152, 25%), cardiometabolic diseases (23/152, 15%), and autoimmune disorders (17/152, 11%) were the most common. This trio of therapeutic areas represented just over half of all global blockbusters. They represented seven of the top 10 bestsellers, or eight of the top 10 if the coronavirus vaccine Comirnaty from Pfizer and BioNTech is excluded.

One blockbuster drug product helps dogs keep ticks, fleas, and other parasites at bay. Simparica and Simparica Trio from Zoetis (sales rank: 143), formerly the animal health division of Pfizer, generated full-year 2023 revenue of $1.111 billion.