The Big Drugs for 2006

The other top S&P pick for 2006 that was also on last year's list is Gardasil, the Merck (MRK Quote) vaccine for human papillomavirus designed to prevent cervical cancer. S&P says Gardasil is the most important product that Merck developed on its own. The company recently submitted the vaccine for FDA review.

Other members of the S&P top 10 list include a pair of experimental schizophrenia drugs, Paliperidone ER from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote) and Bifeprunox from Wyeth (WYE Quote). The experimental sleep-disorders treatment Nuvigil from Cephalon (CEPH Quote) and an easier-to-use version of Xopenex, the asthma drug from Sepracor (SEPR Quote), also made the list.