After an unusual first quarter in which seven of the biopharma industry’s top 25 companies—all from the U.S.—saw year-over-year revenue declines, the second quarter brought a return to normalcy as most of the underperforming U.S. drugmakers recovered.
Of the group, Pfizer made the biggest jump from quarter to quarter. After an 8% decrease in sales in the first quarter, the New York pharma giant realized a 10% increase in the most recent earnings period. Regeneron also saw an impressive quarter-to-quarter rebound from 4% down to 4% up, accompanied by one of the sector’s largest sequential sales increases at 21%.
Bristol Myers Squibb followed a 6% decline in the first quarter with a 1% increase in the second quarter, thanks to a 10% sequential bump in revenue. Gilead Sciences recovered less dramatically, from a 0.3% decline in the first quarter to a 2% increase in the second quarter, thanks to a 6% sequential sales boost.
Meanwhile, the other U.S. companies that delivered first-quarter declines—Merck, Viatris and Organon—each did the same in the second quarter, even though each saw a sequential increase in sales.
It was difficult to determine whether the poor performance in the first quarter had anything to do with the angst felt by the industry over the tariff threats and price-cutting aspirations of President Donald Trump, along with the unsettling prospect of pharma adversary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heading up the Department of Health and Human Services.
Either way, the second quarter brought results that are more typical of the industry. Pfizer credited (PDF) its rebound in large part to the timing of contractual arrangements for COVID products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, which posted year-over-year sales increases of 95% and 71%, respectively. Meanwhile, Regeneron overcame a continued slide for eye disease drug Eylea, which saw a 25% decline in U.S. sales, with another big boost from Dupixent, which was up 22%.
BMS’ turnaround was fueled by rapidly increasing (PDF) sales of blood cancer CAR-T treatment Breyanzi, which was up 125%, and cardiomyopathy treatment Camzyos, which gained by 86%. Both drugs are on track to graduate to blockbuster status this year.
Another factor for both BMS and Pfizer was a turnaround in sales for their partnered blood thinner Eliquis, which faces a Medicare price reduction next year under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In the first quarter, its sales were down 4%, with Pfizer citing a “lower net price in the U.S., including the impact of higher manufacturer discounts resulting from the IRA Medicare Part D Redesign.” But, in the second quarter, Pfizer reported that “higher demand globally” offset those headwinds as sales for the key product jumped 6%.
As for Merck, its second straight quarter with a year-over-year revenue decline was chalked up to plummeting sales of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, which fell by 55%. A noteworthy highlight from Merck’s numbers was that Keytruda accounted for more than 50% of the company's sales for the first time ever in a quarter, pointing to the significant challenge the drugmaker faces as it loses patent protection for the cancer superstar before the end of the decade.
Lilly solidifies hold on top spot
After years of jostling with Novo Nordisk as the top revenue gainer in biopharma, Eli Lilly has put distance between itself and its rival in the diabetes and obesity drug market. Lilly’s 38% sales increase in the second quarter topped the industry and was nearly triple the 13% boost achieved by Novo.
The second quarter of 2025 also marked the first time that Lilly’s combined worldwide sales of Mounjaro (diabetes) and Zepbound (obesity) topped those of Novo’s first-to-market products Ozempic (diabetes) and Wegovy (obesity).
The margin was $8.6 billion for Lilly and $8 billion for Novo, with Mounjaro and Zepbound also individually edging their Novo counterparts for the first time. It was a massive shift from the first quarter, when the combined sales of Novo’s two products came in at $7.5 billion, compared to $6.1 billion for Lilly.
One of the most telling figures from Novo’s financial report was that its sales declined sequentially for the second straight quarter. As a result, the Danish company slashed (PDF) its 2025 revenue growth to a new range of 8% to 14%, all the way down from a 16% to 24% projection Novo opened the year with. At the same time, with its second-quarter report, Lilly bumped up the midpoint of its annual guidance by $1.5 billion to a new range of $60 billion to $62 billion.
Over the last 12 months, Novo’s share price has fallen by more than 60%, and the company—formerly with the highest market cap in Europe—has tumbled to No. 7 in the region. With the slide, Novo has replaced eight-year CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, promoting international operations chief Maziar Mike Doustdar effective earlier this month.
Double-digit gainers in Q2
Besides Eli Lilly, Novo and Pfizer, several other drugmakers delivered double-digit growth in the second quarter. AstraZeneca, Novartis and Vertex each posted 12% sales increases, offering more evidence of their upward trajectories in recent years.
It was the fifth time in the last six quarters that AZ’s deep portfolio has produced a double-digit revenue gain, though the momentum may be slowing from the company’s 16% revenue boost for 2024. The growth of Daiichi Sankyo-partnered cancer blockbuster Enhertu, which was up (PDF) 41% in the quarter, and Amgen-partnered asthma treatment Tezspire, which had a 66% gain, have had much to do with the company’s recent success.
Novartis has posted year-over-year revenue increases of between 7% and 15% for the last 10 quarters, but that streak will soon be tested as the Swiss company recently lost U.S. exclusivity for its top product, Entresto. The heart failure medicine, which is also among the 10 drugs facing an IRA price adjustment in 2026, is going out with a bang, however: Its sales reached $2.36 billion in the second quarter, a 24% increase from the prior year.
As for Vertex, the Boston biotech giant rebounded from the first quarter, when it posted its lowest quarterly growth figure (3%) since 2018. During that period, the company cited an unusual intellectual property rights violation in Russia where unauthorized copies of its dominant product, Kaftrio, were being sold. The cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment accounted for 86% of Vertex’s $3 billion revenue figure in the second quarter, while the company’s newest CF drug, Alyftrek, achieved sales of $157 million in just its second full quarter on the market.
Other gainers
For the second straight quarter, Amgen was up 9%, which is notable because these are true quarterly growth figures for the California drugmaker as it has been more than a year since the company completed its $27.8 billion acquisition of rare disease specialist Horizon Therapeutics in October 2023. Of the top products gained from Horizon, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder treatment Uplizna made the biggest gain, a 91% sales increase year over year, pulling in $176 million in the second quarter.
Biogen presented continued evidence of its turnaround with an 8% year-over-year and 9% sequential revenue gain in the second quarter. This comes after revenue declines for the company in each of the last five years. Leading the rebound have been three new products, all launched in 2023. Postpartum depression drug Zurzuvae, Alzheimer’s disease treatment Leqembi and Friedreich’s ataxia therapy Skyclarys posted sequential growth of 68%, 20% and 13%, respectively.
Another U.S. company bouncing back was AbbVie, which saw second-quarter sales increases of 7% year over year and 16% sequentially. AbbVie has recovered from the loss of patent protection for Humira, which triggered the company’s 5% revenue decline in 2023. Immunology juggernauts Skyrizi and Rinvoq combined for sales of $6.4 billion in the quarter, showing year-over-year increases of 62% and 42%. With the performance, AbbVie jacked up its 2025 guidance by $800 million.
Johnson & Johnson achieved its highest quarterly growth figure since the fourth quarter of 2023, making a 6% gain in the second quarter behind its oncology portfolio, which achieved 24% growth. The standouts were multiple myeloma drug Darzalex, which was up 23% to $3.5 billion, and Carvykti, which is on its way to blockbuster status for the first time, ringing up sales of $808 million in the first half. The performance triggered a $2 billion boost to the company’s 2025 guidance to a new range of between $93.2 billion and $93.6 billion.
Decliners
In addition to Merck, Viatris and Organon, Bayer (-4%) and Takeda (-8%) also sustained revenue declines in the second quarter. Bayer’s result comes after a 4% increase in the first quarter and can be attributed (PDF) to a drop off in sales in its consumer health sector as well as plummeting proceeds from blood thinner Xarelto because of its loss of patent protection.
Takeda also cited generic competition as a key reason for its sales decline in the second quarter, as headwinds toppled its key ADHD drug Vyvanse. Looking ahead, the Japanese company is bracing for a 2026 IRA-related price change for inflammatory bowel disease treatment Entyvio.