Medscape Medical News
Megan Brooks
May 13, 2014
The hypothyroid medication levothyroxine (Synthroid, AbbVie) continues to be the nation's most prescribed drug, and the antipsychotic aripiprazole (Abilify, Otsuka Pharmaceutical) continues to have the highest sales, at nearly $6.9 billion, according to the latest data from research firm IMS Health.
The data reflect a rolling 12 months of history (April 2013 - March 2014) on the top 100 drugs by total sales and total prescriptions in the United States.
Following levothyroxine (with just more than 23 million prescriptions) as most prescribed drug in the United States were the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca), at about 22.9 million; the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole (Nexium, AstraZeneca), at roughly 19.3 million; the asthma medication albuterol (Ventolin HFA, GlaxoSmithKline), at about 17.5 million; and the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication fluticasone/salmeterol (Advair Diskus, GlaxoSmithKline), at more than 15.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 most prescribed drugs for the period were the antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta, Eli Lilly), the antihypertensive valsartan (Diovan, Novartis), the attention deficit drug lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse, Shire), insulin glargine injection (Lantus Solostar, sanofi-aventis), and the antiepileptic pregabalin (Lyrica, Pfizer).
After aripiprazole, the next best selling drugs for the period April 2013 through March 2014 were esomeprazole magnesium (Nexium, AstraZeneca) at nearly $6.3 billion, and the arthritis drug adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie), at $5.9 billion.
Rounding out the top 10 in sales were Crestor ($5.5 billion), Advair Diskus ($5.1 billion), the arthritis drugs etanercept (Enbrel, Amgen; almost $4.9 billion) and infliximab (Remicade, Centocor; $4.2 billion), Cymbalta ($4.1 billion), the multiple sclerosis drug glatiramer acetate (Copaxone, Teva Pharm; almost $3.7 billion), and the neutropenia drug pegfilgrastim (Neulasta, Amgen; $3.6 billion).
Table 1. Top 100 Drugs by Sales
Rank Drug (Brand Name) Sales Through March 2014
1 Abilify $6,885,243,368
2 Nexium $6,271,376,299
3 Humira $5,936,288,498
4 Crestor $5,502,148,010
5 Advair Diskus $5,112,576,549
6 Enbrel $4,896,267,318
7 Remicade $4,235,535,358
8 Cymbalta $4,095,537,942
9 Copaxone $3,679,837,035
10 Neulasta $3,634,919,067
11 Lantus Solostar $3,375,632,862
12 Rituxan $3,320,475,967
13 Spiriva Handihaler $3,140,602,715
14 Januvia $2,975,320,499
15 Atripla $2,894,627,347
16 Lantus $2,796,784,267
17 Avastin $2,742,284,655
18 Lyrica $2,611,451,728
19 Oxycontin $2,528,601,587
20 Epogen $2,346,224,521
21 Celebrex $2,342,549,444
22 Truvada $2,307,970,304
23 Diovan $2,190,542,692
24 Gleevec $1,995,042,989
25 Herceptin $1,971,724,243
26 Lucentis $1,917,919,037
27 Namenda $1,871,956,353
28 Vyvanse $1,848,814,801
29 Zetia $1,826,260,072
30 Levemir $1,775,037,064
31 Symbicort $1,733,830,589
32 Sovaldi $1,724,867,241
33 Novolog Flexpen $1,482,659,229
34 Novolog $1,409,680,368
35 Tecfidera $1,394,704,148
36 Suboxone $1,388,805,102
37 Humalog $1,310,236,982
38 Xarelto $1,263,697,546
39 Seroquel XR $1,251,615,894
40 Viagra $1,235,125,299
41 Alimta $1,205,717,422
42 Victoza 3-Pak $1,186,784,355
43 Avonex $1,184,476,004
44 Nasonex $1,180,165,756
45 Cialis $1,170,843,904
46 Gilenya $1,097,409,827
47 Stelara $1,083,660,282
48 Flovent HFA $1,078,422,967
49 Prezista $1,046,464,870
50 Procrit $1,037,298,436
51 Isentress $1,037,220,122
52 Janumet $1,028,179,032
53 Renvela $1,023,751,529
54 Humalog Kwikpen $1,003,100,788
55 Orencia $990,449,529
56 Dexilant $967,408,551
57 Vesicare $967,408,277
58 Neupogen $944,389,150
59 Reyataz $935,417,307
60 Lunesta $927,689,337
61 Synthroid $899,215,664
62 Pradaxa $862,604,444
63 Zytiga $861,683,197
64 Benicar $860,761,655
65 Xolair $859,052,353
66 Avonex Pen $849,256,894
67 Vytorin $846,602,646
68 Invega Sustenna $831,061,694
69 Sensipar $824,871,721
70 Xgeva $822,603,435
71 Prevnar 13 $821,372,081
72 Evista $815,315,970
73 Aranesp $814,017,366
74 Betaseron $792,093,855
75 Stribild $785,645,319
76 Combivent Respimat $768,925,543
77 Xeloda $761,832,629
78 Afinitor $761,796,538
79 Ventolin HFA $761,324,992
80 Synagis $755,220,544
81 Zyvox $732,206,096
82 Bystolic $719,917,435
83 Sandostatin LAR $708,264,105
84 Complera $696,270,123
85 Benicar HCT $692,128,910
86 Treanda $691,670,874
87 Gardasil $683,558,728
88 Zostavax $679,653,129
89 Pristiq $660,397,547
90 Erbitux $660,368,777
91 Focalin XR $647,720,027
92 Tarceva $646,108,218
93 Cubicin $643,649,546
94 Strattera $640,562,124
95 Latuda $639,903,393
96 Velcade $624,619,639
97 Viread $606,046,798
98 Welchol $603,644,260
99 Nuvaring $600,191,343
100 Sprycel $599,882,414
Source: IMS National Prescription Audit, IMS Health.
|
|
