Power Shift in Pharma-Bio Market: End of the 'Keytruda Era,' Rise of the 'Obesity Drug Dominance'

The center of gravity in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology market is shifting from drugs for severe diseases such as anticancer agents to obesity treatments.

According to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry on May 8, Eli Lilly's obesity and diabetes drug 'Mounjaro' recorded global sales of $8.7 billion (approximately KRW 12.6846 trillion) in the first quarter of this year. As a result, Mounjaro has surpassed Merck (MSD)'s flagship immuno-oncology drug 'Keytruda' to become the world's highest-grossing pharmaceutical product. During the same period, Keytruda generated sales of $7.9 billion (approximately KRW 11.5182 trillion), losing its top spot for the first time in three years since 2023. When adding the performance of another Eli Lilly obesity drug, 'Zepbound', the total first-quarter sales of the tirzepatide product family reached $12.7 billion (approximately KRW 18.5166 trillion), dramatically widening the gap with former leader Keytruda.

Analysts say this tectonic shift clearly demonstrates that the leadership of the global pharmaceutical market is rapidly moving from cancer drugs to obesity and diabetes treatments. Until now, the pharmaceutical market has been driven by expensive, innovative new drugs that extended the lives of terminal cancer patients. Now, however, treatments that help millions of people lose weight and directly improve their quality of life by preventing various complications such as obesity-induced cardiovascular diseases have entered the market's mainstream.

Another pioneer in the market, Novo Nordisk, has also reported results that support the explosive growth of the obesity treatment sector. The company's flagship product, 'Wegovy', achieved a gross profit margin of 85.9% in the first quarter. Out of total sales of 65.349 billion kroner (approximately KRW 10.2362 trillion), gross profit reached about 56.135 billion kroner (approximately KRW 8.7946 trillion).

Notably, the oral (pill) form of Wegovy, which made a surprise debut in the U.S. market in January, addressed the inconvenience of injectable formulations and secured over 1 million prescribed patients within just 16 weeks of launch. This set a new record for the fastest and largest number of prescriptions in U.S. pharmaceutical market history. Specifically, the injectable form of Wegovy posted sales of 18.24 billion kroner (approximately KRW 2.8571 trillion) in the first quarter alone, while the oral formulation, despite being in the early stages of introduction, contributed an additional 2.26 billion kroner (approximately KRW 355.1 billion), accelerating explosive growth.

Industry experts analyze that these results signify a fundamental transformation in the pharmaceutical industry's profit structure, beyond just a short-term trend or demand for cosmetic purposes. While the traditional blockbuster cancer drug model generated profit by supplying ultra-high-priced medication to a limited number of patients, obesity treatments are generating astronomical revenue by supplying drugs in large quantities at relatively reasonable prices to millions of patients worldwide. Even amid strong drug price reduction pressures from the U.S. administration and the negative impact of certain generic products entering the market, demand has soared as pill formulations with greatly improved dosing convenience have successfully established themselves. An industry official stated, "The full-scale emergence of the obesity treatment market is evidence that the global pharmaceutical paradigm is shifting from the 'era of survival'—focused on overcoming diseases and extending life—to the 'era of lifestyle,' where daily management and quality of life improvements through treatments like obesity drugs take center stage."

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