Markets
Visualizing the Future of the Pharma Market
Visualizing the Future of the Pharma Market
Around the world, people are living longer.
By 2050, there will be two billion people that are 60 years or older globally. Meanwhile, the amount of seniors (65+ years old) in the U.S. will double to 100 million by 2060.
To meet the needs of this aging population, we will continue to need larger quantities and more varieties of prescription drug treatments – an industry that is expected to skyrocket to $1.2 trillion in size by 2024.
Drug Sales, by Segment
Today’s infographic comes to us from Raconteur, and it highlights the most anticipated drug treatments and therapy areas for the pharmaceutical industry.
It starts by breaking down the massive pharma market into therapy segments, showing a forecast for the size and growth for each category.
Here is the data for the top 15 segments, sorted by projected worldwide prescription drug sales in 2024:
Rank | Therapy Area | 2017 sales | 2024 sales | CAGR |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Oncology | $104B | $233B | +12.2% |
#2 | Anti-diabetics | $46.1B | $59.5B | +3.3% |
#3 | Anti-rheumatics | $55.7B | $56.7B | +0.2% |
#4 | Vaccines | $27.7B | $44.6B | +7.1% |
#5 | Anti-virals | $42.4B | $39.9B | -0.9% |
#6 | Immunosuppressants | $13.7B | $38.1B | +15.7% |
#7 | Bronchodilators | $27.2B | $32.3B | +2.5% |
#8 | Dermatologicals | $12.9B | $30.3B | +13% |
#9 | Sensory Organs | $21.6B | $26.9B | +3.2% |
#10 | Anti-hypertensives | $23B | $24.4B | +0.8% |
#11 | Anti-coagulants | $16.8B | $22.9B | +4.6% |
#12 | MS Therapies | $22.7B | $21.5B | -0.8% |
#13 | Anti-fibrinolytics | $12.7B | $20.4B | +7.1% |
#14 | Anti-hyperlipidaemics | $11.3B | $16.4B | +5.5% |
#15 | Anti-anaemics | $7.6B | $15.7B | +11% |
Other | $379B | $567B | +5.9% | |
Total | $825B | $1249B | +6.1% |
This data, which comes from a recent report from EvaluatePharma, helps showcase a few key insights.
Firstly, the oncology therapy area – which makes drugs that are used to treat various forms of cancer – is by far the largest in the pharma world with $107 billion in sales in 2017. It’s also projected to maintain its dominance going forward, growing at an impressive 12.2% CAGR to $233 billion by 2024.
Next, while sales in cancer-related drugs will be the most in absolute terms, the fastest growing treatment area is actually in immunosuppressants – a segment of drugs that make a body less likely to reject a transplanted organ, such as a liver, heart, or kidney. It’s projected that this segment will grow at 15.7% per year, eventually becoming the sixth largest pharma segment at $38.1 billion in 2024.
Lastly, while sales in the pharma market will be averaging 6.1% in annual growth as a whole, there are two major segments that will see negative annual growth going forward: Anti-virals (-0.9%) and MS Therapies (-0.8%).
The Battle Against Cancer
Currently, there are more drugs used for treating cancer than for any other type of disease or condition.
Rank | Disease or Condition | Number of active drugs |
---|---|---|
#1 | Breast cancer | 727 |
#2 | Lung cancer | 544 |
#3 | Colorectal cancer | 503 |
#4 | Ovarian cancer | 434 |
#5 | Pancreatic cancer | 430 |
#6 | Type-2 diabetes | 407 |
#7 | Prostate cancer | 381 |
- | Alzheimer's disease | 381 |
Unfortunately, even though many cancer drugs are available on the market already, the debilitating disease is still a leading cause of death. Existing drugs are used in treatments of chemotherapy or hormone therapy, but it’s clear that there is still plenty of room for progress to be made against the disease.
For these reasons – combined with the estimate that nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetimes – it’s no surprise to see that companies have yet even more cancer drugs in the pipeline:
Rank | Therapy area | Number of drugs in pipeline |
---|---|---|
#1 | Anti-cancer | 5,212 |
#2 | Biotechnology | 4,751 |
#3 | Neurological | 2,604 |
#4 | Anti-infective | 2,238 |
#5 | Alimentary/metabolic | 2,237 |
#6 | Reformulations | 2,073 |
#7 | Musculoskeletal | 1,597 |
#8 | Dermatological | 929 |
As more drugs get approved from the above pipeline, it is projected that $1 of every $5 spent on prescription drugs in 2024 will be going towards cancer-related treatments.
Markets
The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
What was on investors’ minds in 2022? Discover the top Google searches and how the dominant trends played out in portfolios.


The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
It was a turbulent year for the markets in 2022, with geopolitical conflict, rising prices, and the labor market playing key roles. Which stories captured investors’ attention the most?
This infographic from New York Life Investments outlines the top Google searches related to investing in 2022, and offers a closer look at some of the trends.
Top Google Searches: Year in Review
We picked some of the top economic and investing stories that saw peak search interest in the U.S. each month, according to Google Trends.
Month of Peak Interest | Search Term |
---|---|
January | Great Resignation |
February | Russian Stock Market |
March | Oil Price |
April | Housing Bubble |
May | Value Investing |
June | Bitcoin |
July | Recession |
August | Inflation |
September | US Dollar |
October | OPEC |
November | Layoffs |
December | Interest Rate Forecast |
Data based on exact searches in the U.S. from December 26, 2021 to December 18, 2022.
Let’s look at each quarter in more detail, to see how these top Google searches were related to activity in the economy and investors’ portfolios.
Q1 2022
The start of the year was marked by U.S. workers quitting their jobs in record numbers, and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. For instance, the price of crude oil skyrocketed after the war caused supply uncertainties. Early March’s peak of $125 per barrel was a 13-year high.
Date | Closing Price of WTI Crude Oil (USD/Barrel) |
---|---|
January 2, 2022 | $76 |
March 3, 2022 | $125 |
December 29, 2022 | $80 |
While crude oil lost nearly all its gains by year-end, the energy sector in general performed well. In fact, the S&P 500 Energy Index gained 57% over the year compared to the S&P 500’s 19% loss.
Q2 2022
The second quarter of 2022 saw abnormal house price growth, renewed interest in value investing, and a bitcoin crash. In particular, value investing performed much better than growth investing over the course of the year.
Index | Price Return in 2022 |
---|---|
S&P 500 Value Index | -7.4% |
S&P 500 Growth Index | -30.1% |
Value stocks have typically outperformed during periods of rising rates, and 2022 was no exception.
Q3 2022
The third quarter was defined by worries about a recession and inflation, along with interest in the rising U.S. dollar. In fact, the U.S. dollar gained against nearly every major currency.
Currency | USD Appreciation Against Currency (Dec 31 2020-Sep 30 2022) |
---|---|
Japanese Yen | 40.1% |
Chinese Yuan | 9.2% |
Euro | 25.1% |
Canadian Dollar | 7.2% |
British Pound | 22.0% |
Australian Dollar | 18.1% |
Higher interest rates made the U.S. dollar more attractive to investors, since it meant they would get a higher return on their fixed income investments.
Q4 2022
The end of the year was dominated by OPEC cutting oil production, high layoffs in the tech sector, and curiosity about the future of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s December 2022 economic projections offer clues about the trajectory of the policy rate.
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Longer Run | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum Projection | 4.9% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
Median Projection | 5.1% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 2.5% |
Maximum Projection | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 3.3% |
The Federal Reserve expects interest rates to peak in 2023, with rates to remain elevated above pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future.
The Top Google Searches to Come
After a year of volatility across asset classes, economic uncertainty remains. Which themes will become investors’ top Google searches in 2023?
Find out how New York Life Investments can help you make sense of market trends.

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