Why is the adalimumab market so important?
Humira peaked at ~$21 billion in global sales and has generated $200 billion+ cumulatively — with ten FDA-approved biosimilars now competing, how this market plays out is shaping the entire next wave of biologic patent expiries.
Humira was the best-selling drug in the world, peaking at roughly $21 billion in global sales before US biosimilar competition arrived in 2023, and generating more than $200 billion cumulatively. Biosimilars are near-copies of biologic drugs, meant to play the role generics play for pills by introducing price competition. Because Humira was so large, its loss of exclusivity was the most-watched biosimilar event in the industry, and the field of competitors is now the deepest for any biologic, with ten FDA-approved adalimumab biosimilars. How this market has played out, including how long biosimilars took to arrive and how slowly they gained share, is shaping policy for the next wave of biologic patent expiries, such as Stelara.