Blockbuster status, an unofficial gold medal awarded to therapies racking up sales of $1 billion or more per year, is the holy grail for drug developers. Arguably, it's the chance to discover blockbusters that fuel industry R&D spending and offsets the loss of billions spent working on drugs that end up on the cutting room floor. However, knowing which drugs will become blockbusters isn't easy. Industry watchers often predict big bucks for compounds in development that fail to live up to expectations.

So, instead of guessing which drugs might end up big winners, let's instead consider three recently approved drugs already on the way to becoming blockbusters. The three include a fast-growing anticoagulant from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)  and Bayer (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY), a revolutionary new hepatitis C treatment from Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD), and a new oral drug from multiple sclerosis powerhouse Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) .

JNJ data. Source: YCharts.

1. Johnson & Johnson and Bayer's Xarelto
Patients recovering from post-operative knee and hip surgery and heart disease patients have been prescribed warfarin, or Coumadin, to reduce the chance of stroke for decades. However, warfarin is facing off against a slate of new anticoagulants designed to reduce the risk of brain hemorrhages, eliminate interactions with common foods, and lower the need for inconvenient monitoring. These new drugs include Boehringer's blockbuster Pradaxa, andPfizer and Bristol-Myers' fast-growing Eliquis. But the most impressive of the new anticoagulants so far has been Johnson and Bayer's Xarelto.

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