A blockbuster drug is a drug generating more than $1 billion of revenue for its owner each year. The search for blockbusters has been the foundation of the R&D strategy adopted by Big Pharma , but this looks set to change. New advances in genomics, and the promise of personalized medicine , are likely to fragment the pharmaceutical market.

Leading blockbuster drugs

• atorvastatin (Lipitor) from Pfizer
• celecoxib (Celebrex) from Pfizer
• omeprazole (Losec/Prilosec) from AstraZeneca (2003 sales $2.6bn)
• esomeprazole (Nexium) from AstraZeneca (2003 sales $3.3bn)
• quetiapine (Seroquel) from AstraZeneca (2003 sales $1.5bn)
• metoprolol (Seloken/Toprol) from AstraZeneca (2003 sales $1.3bn)
• budesonide (Pulmicort/Rhinocort) from AstraZeneca (2003 sales $1.3bn, plus some fraction of the $0.6bn sales of Symbicort)
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