February 2, 2026
Pharmaceutical portfolios tend to evolve gradually year to year, but longer time horizons reveal meaningful structural change. Comparing 2019 and 2024 revenue composition across several large-cap biopharma companies shows how M&A, lifecycle dynamics, and new product launches reshaped therapeutic concentration.
This analysis examines portfolio mix shifts at Johnson & Johnson, Roche, AstraZeneca, and Novo Nordisk, using company-reported pharmaceutical segment revenue. Percentages reflect share of total pharmaceutical revenue in each year.
Johnson and Johnson: Oncology Expansion Alongside Immunology Stability
Johnson and Johnson maintained a relatively stable immunology contribution across the period, accounting for roughly one third of pharmaceutical revenue in both 2019 and 2024. This stability reflects sustained performance from established immunology brands, even as biosimilar exposure approaches.
The most notable shift was in oncology. Oncology increased from approximately 25 percent of pharmaceutical revenue in 2019 to about 36.5 percent in 2024. This growth reflects the continued expansion of the company’s multiple myeloma franchise and the increasing weight of oncology within its overall portfolio.
Neuroscience declined modestly as a share of revenue over the period, but this trend is already reversing following Johnson and Johnson’s acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies in late 2024. That transaction materially expands the company’s central nervous system footprint, with Caplyta positioned as a long-term growth driver.
Roche: Reduced Concentration Through Neurology Growth
In 2019, Roche’s pharmaceutical revenue was heavily concentrated in oncology and hematology, which together accounted for close to 60 percent of the portfolio. By 2024, that share declined to roughly 51 percent, not due to oncology weakness, but because of faster growth in other areas.
Neurology emerged as the most significant source of diversification. By 2024, neurology contributed approximately 20 percent of Roche’s pharmaceutical revenue, driven primarily by expansion of its multiple sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy franchises.
Oncology and hematology remain the company’s largest revenue engine, increasingly supported by antibody drug conjugates and next-generation immuno-oncology assets. The shift reflects portfolio broadening rather than a strategic retreat from oncology leadership.
AstraZeneca: Structural Reweighting Toward Oncology and Rare Disease
AstraZeneca exhibited the most pronounced portfolio transformation among the companies analyzed. In 2019, respiratory and cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases together represented more than half of pharmaceutical revenue. Oncology accounted for roughly 37 percent.
By 2024, oncology grew to nearly 40 percent of the portfolio, becoming the dominant revenue driver. Rare disease emerged as a meaningful contributor at approximately 17 percent of revenue, reflecting the full integration of Alexion and its complement-mediated disease franchises.
This shift illustrates AstraZeneca’s transition toward a more oncology- and rare disease-centric portfolio, while still maintaining exposure to respiratory, cardiovascular, and immunology markets. The result is a more diversified revenue base across specialty and high-value therapeutic areas.
Novo Nordisk: Sustained Focus on Metabolic Disease
Novo Nordisk remained the most therapeutically concentrated portfolio in the group. Diabetes care accounted for approximately 80 percent of pharmaceutical revenue in both 2019 and 2024, underscoring the company’s continued focus on metabolic disease.
Within that concentration, the internal mix evolved. Obesity care expanded materially by 2024, reflecting the commercial impact of GLP-1 therapies that now span diabetes, obesity, and broader metabolic indications. Rare blood disorders and other indications remained comparatively small contributors after reclassification to align reporting between years.
The data highlight a deliberate strategy of depth over breadth, with Novo Nordisk reinforcing leadership in a single therapeutic domain rather than pursuing broad diversification.
What the Portfolio Shifts Signal
Taken together, these portfolio changes illustrate several broader industry dynamics. Oncology continues to absorb a growing share of pharmaceutical revenue, driven by sustained innovation and pricing durability. Neurology and rare disease have emerged as diversification engines, particularly for companies seeking to offset oncology concentration risk.
At the same time, some companies are doubling down on therapeutic focus rather than diversification, betting on scale, execution, and platform leadership within a narrow set of disease areas. Over multi-year horizons, these choices materially reshape revenue composition, even when year-to-year changes appear modest.
