NEW YORK, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Drugs.com, the leading online clinical drug resource, today released second quarter 2013 U.S. prescription sales data for the top 100 drugs. Since Q2 2012, Otuska's antipsychotic Abilify and AstraZeneca's acid reducer Nexium have held either the number one or two spot in top dollar sales. This quarter, both agents continue to maintain their stronghold; each posts close to $1.5 billion in sales. Humira, AbbVie's key tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker, climbs three notches and sees a double-digit gain for the quarter.
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Top Five Drugs by Sales, Q2 2013
| Drug Name | Sales ($000) | % Change (previousquarter) |
| Abilify | $1,597,913 | +4.70% |
| Nexium | $1,454,048 | -0.34% |
| Humira | $1,341,759 | +10.22% |
| Cymbalta | $1,338,912 | +3.24% |
| Crestor | $1,290,913 | -0.37% |
The move of Humira into the top five shifts both Eli Lilly's Cymbalta, and AstraZeneca's Crestor down one position. Cymbalta, which reaped over $4.4 billion in 2012 U.S. sales, goes off patent this December.
Top Five Sales Gains, Q2 2013
| Drug Name | Gain ($000) | % Change (previousquarter) |
| Humira | $124,407 | +10.22% |
| doxycycline | $89,309 | +46.22% |
| Enbrel | $72,681 | +6.76% |
| Abilify | $71,685 | +4.70% |
| Epogen | $47,324 | +9.40% |
Not only does Humira re-enter the top five drugs by sales, it also comes in at the number one spot in terms of sales growth. Enbrel, another TNF blocker, returns to positive growth after a slight drop in Q1. Abilify and Epogen round out the fourth and fifth spots in quarterly sales gains.
"The significant impact of TNF blockers on autoimmune disease activity is not only reflected in their varied indications such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease, but also in their steady sales growth," said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com. "Since the second quarter of 2012, Humira, Enbrel, and Remicade have all placed in the top ten with revenues in the $1 billion range."
Top Five Sales Losses, Q2 2013
| Drug Name | Loss ($000) | % Change (previousquarter) |
| Avonex Pen | -$154,859 | -45.78% |
| Suboxone | -$78,819 | -18.95% |
| Advair Diskus | -$35,740 | -2.80% |
| Avonex | -$32,162 | -9.51% |
| modafinil | -$31,418 | -14.37% |
Newer oral multiple sclerosis (MS) agents such as Novartis' Gilenya may now be impacting the use of injectable interferon such as Biogen Idec's Avonex, which loses significant growth this quarter. However, the news may not be all bad — Biogen Idec also manufactures Tecfidera, the newest oral MS drug — predicted to draw in over $3.5 billion in annual sales by 2017. Modafinil lost over 17 percent in sales gains in Q1 2013, and continues to slide this quarter.
Reckitt Benckiser's Suboxone for opiate dependence, now available only in the oral dissolvable film, drops close to $79 million. The sublingual tablet formulation of Suboxone, discontinued in March, can now be replaced with the generic version approved in February.
Detailed data on the top 100 drugs can be accessed at: http://www.drugs.com/stats/top100/sales
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Drugs.com is the leading online drug information resource with over nine million unique visitors per month (ComScore, June 2013). Providing free, independent, peer-reviewed, and up-to-date information at both consumer and professional levels, Drugs.com empowers patients and caregivers to take charge of their health and be more informed than ever before. The site includes many interactive tools and mobile apps to assist consumers, healthcare professionals and researchers, such as personal medication records, a drug interaction checker, pill identification wizard, symptom checker, pharma sales statistics and more.
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