According to data from Yaozhi, from 2016 to the first half of 2025, among the domestic public medical institutions' innovative drug sales rankings (calculated by brand sales), Huizhi's atorvastatin calcium tablets have accumulated sales of RMB 49.27 billion , ranking first in China's new drug market for nearly ten years, becoming a veritable "sales champion".

01
"The Logic of the King"

atorvastatin calcium tablets have maintained an unshakeable leading position in the top 10 list of new drug sales in domestic public medical institutions . Its cumulative sales of 49.27 billion yuan exceed those of the second-ranked budesonide inhalation suspension (38.245 billion yuan) by a full 11 billion yuan . Based on the total sales of the top 10, atorvastatin calcium tablets account for nearly 15% of the market share, demonstrating its significant market penetration and influence.
Looking at the annual sales trend, 2016 to 2019 was its golden growth period, with sales steadily climbing from 5.612 billion yuan to 6.854 billion yuan. In 2018, it even reached a peak of 7.405 billion yuan , becoming the only product in the TOP10 list to break the 7 billion yuan mark in a single year, demonstrating its dominant position. In 2020, affected by the national volume-based procurement policy, its sales fell back to 3.847 billion yuan. However, supported by strong clinical demand, sales stabilized in the 4.3-4.4 billion yuan range in the following years (2021-2024). In the first half of 2025, sales reached 2.375 billion yuan, and Yaozhi Data predicts that its annual sales are expected to exceed 4.1 billion yuan, confirming the product's market resilience after policy adjustments.

It is no accident that a drug can become the "top seller for ten years". It is the result of the combined effects of clinical needs, product advantages and specific market environment .

As a representative of statin lipid-lowering drugs, the success of atorvastatin calcium tablets is primarily based on the large number of cardiovascular disease patients. Cardiovascular diseases are characterized by "three highs" (high incidence, high mortality, and high disability rate) and "three lows" (low awareness rate, low treatment rate, and low control rate), and the disease course is long and the progression is slow, requiring long-term management for patients.

The "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2023" estimates that the number of people with cardiovascular diseases in China has reached 330 million. The rapid increase in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a core characteristic of CVD, and dyslipidemia is a recognized pathogenic risk factor for ASCVD. A national survey in 2018 showed that the overall prevalence of dyslipidemia among adults aged 18 and above in China reached 35.6%, and is still on the rise . This trend has created a huge demand for lipid-lowering drugs.

Statins are the cornerstone of primary and secondary prevention of ASCVD. Atorvastatin calcium tablets not only effectively lower LDL cholesterol but also stabilize plaques, making them a first-line clinical choice. Hyperlipidemia, as a chronic disease, requires long-term or even lifelong medication, and this "long-term medication" attribute provides a consistently stable market demand for atorvastatin calcium tablets.

Of course, no drug can escape the laws of its life cycle. After reaching its peak in 2018, atorvastatin calcium tablets experienced a phased decline due to the centralized procurement policy, and then entered a normal and mature period. In 2023 and 2024, sales stabilized in the range of 4.3 billion to 4.4 billion yuan, and sales are expected to reach 4.1 billion yuan in 2025.

Looking ahead, as China's population continues to age and lipid management standards become increasingly stringent, atorvastatin calcium tablets, as a core product for potent lipid-lowering, will continue to hold an important therapeutic position for a considerable period. However, it also faces significant challenges, particularly the clinical substitution pressure from novel lipid-lowering drugs such as PCSK9 inhibitors and small nucleic acid drugs. The advantages of these drugs in terms of lipid-lowering efficacy and dosing frequency may gradually erode some market share, adding uncertainty to the long-term market performance of atorvastatin calcium tablets.

02
Market Structure Analysis

The top 10 list of new drug sales over the past decade resembles a dynamically evolving market map, where the rise and fall of each drug reflects the pain points of demand, competitive landscape, and policy impact in China's new drug market.

In terms of field distribution, the top 10 drugs cover six core treatment areas: cardiovascular, respiratory, anti-infective, diabetes, oncology, and hematological diseases. Among them, drugs for the cardiovascular and metabolic systems occupy 6 spots, forming an absolute dominant position.

These six products are atorvastatin calcium tablets (lipid-lowering), clopidogrel bisulfate tablets (antiplatelet), nifedipine controlled-release tablets (hypertensive), insulin aspart 30 injection, insulin glargine injection (both for diabetes), and acarbose tablets (hyperglycemic). Their cumulative sales reached 200.179 billion yuan, accounting for 59.9% of the total scale of the TOP10 , exceeding the total sales of the other four areas.

This data also shows that chronic diseases have become the most significant disease burden in China . Their high prevalence and long-term treatment characteristics have directly driven the continuous expansion of the related drug market and determined that the core competitive track of the new drug market in the past decade has been concentrated in the field of chronic diseases.

Specifically, in the cardiovascular drug segment , besides the champion atorvastatin, clopidogrel bisulfate tablets also ranked among the top three with 37.376 billion yuan. These two drugs target hyperlipidemia and thrombosis prevention respectively. This pattern reflects China's large patient base for cardiovascular diseases, and the long-term medication needs of these patients support the high sales of these two drugs.

Among respiratory medications , AstraZeneca's budesonide inhalation suspension is the best-selling respiratory preparation in the Chinese market, with sales reaching 6.663 billion yuan in 2019. However, sales have been declining since 2020, with only 416 million yuan in sales expected in the first half of 2025.

In the field of anti-infectives , Pfizer's cefoperazone sodium and sulbactam sodium for injection is the only new anti-infective drug to enter the TOP10. Its sales have grown steadily between 2016 and 2023, reaching a peak of RMB 5.601 billion in 2023.

In the field of oncology , Roche's trastuzumab for injection (Herceptin), as the "gold standard" for targeted therapy of HER2-positive breast cancer, has accumulated sales of 31.61 billion yuan, making it the only new anti-tumor drug on the list. Its sales volume continued to increase between 2016 and 2022, reaching 4.648 billion yuan in 2021, highlighting the high value and inelastic demand for targeted cancer drugs.

Of the top 10, nine are products from foreign companies. Multinational pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Bayer, Novo Nordisk, and Roche are all included, with their products achieving a cumulative sales volume of 307.055 billion yuan, accounting for a staggering 92%. Over the past decade, foreign pharmaceutical companies have leveraged their advantages—including patent barriers for original drugs, global R&D experience, and mature academic promotion and marketing systems—to build an unshakeable market position in China's new drug market.

Novo Nordisk, for example, has built a complete product pipeline covering diabetes treatment by continuously launching iterative products such as insulin and GLP-1 receptor agonists. AstraZeneca, Sanofi, and other companies, leveraging their early entry into the Chinese market, have accumulated extremely high brand recognition, giving their products a natural advantage in clinical selection.

The only domestic company to break into this list is Shenyang Sansheng Pharmaceutical's recombinant human thrombopoietin injection. With cumulative sales of 27.212 billion yuan, it ranked eighth, becoming the only Chinese-made innovative drug in the top 10. Recombinant human thrombopoietin injection also demonstrated extremely strong growth momentum, with sales climbing nearly sixfold from 849 million yuan in 2016 to 5.076 billion yuan in 2024.

From a time perspective , 2020 and 2021 were significant turning points for the Chinese pharmaceutical market. From 2016 to 2019, the market as a whole experienced steady growth, with the cumulative sales of the top ten products reaching a peak of 47.7 billion yuan in 2019. In 2020, affected by policies such as volume-based procurement, sales dropped to 35.3 billion yuan. The comprehensive implementation of these policies and the iteration of new drugs directly reshaped the market fate of many products.

The most typical example is Bayer's acarbose tablets. In 2019, its sales reached 5.113 billion yuan, but after the implementation of centralized procurement in 2020, sales plummeted to 2.104 billion yuan, and by the first half of 2025, they were only 383 million yuan. This precipitous decline is due to two factors: firstly, the significant price reduction brought about by the volume-based procurement policy, and secondly, the impact of the market entry of new hypoglycemic drugs such as GLP-1 inhibitors. Both factors have jointly driven profound changes in the hypoglycemic market landscape.

03
Who will be the next top seller?

Atorvastatin calcium tablets, with cumulative sales of 49.3 billion yuan, have become the benchmark for China's new drug market over the past decade. Looking ahead to the next decade, which product will lead in sales?

From the current market trends, oncology and autoimmune diseases are undoubtedly the most promising and lucrative sectors. Cutting-edge technologies in oncology, such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, and cell therapy, are constantly breaking through the limitations of traditional treatments, bringing new hope to patients with advanced cancer. In the autoimmune field, IL-17 inhibitors and JAK inhibitors have demonstrated excellent efficacy in treating diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs not only have high clinical value but also a continuously expanding patient population, possessing the core potential to become blockbuster drugs.

Furthermore, biologics in the chronic disease management field are poised to produce new sales champions. GLP-1 receptor agonists, in particular, are making a leap from specialty drugs to mass-market health products due to their multiple benefits in lowering blood sugar, weight loss, and protecting the heart and kidneys. With companies like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly continuously pushing for product iteration and improved accessibility, the market penetration rate of these drugs will continue to increase, potentially replicating or even surpassing the market trajectory of statins and becoming the market leader of the next decade.

The top-selling drug of the next decade could be a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer's disease, a cell therapy for a type of cancer, or a treatment for chronic diseases. But regardless, products that truly alleviate patient suffering and create medical value will ultimately reap the rewards of the market.

04
Conclusion

Looking back at the new drug market data of the past decade, atorvastatin calcium tablets topped the sales charts with 49.3 billion yuan. Looking ahead to the next decade, with the overall improvement in pharmaceutical innovation, more high-quality drugs with high clinical value and clear patient benefits will undoubtedly emerge.

This is precisely the biggest lesson that atorvastatin calcium tablets, the "top seller for ten years," has taught the industry: the core value of the pharmaceutical industry lies in creating well-being for patients.

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