Press Release Headlines

Top 100 Drug Sales Data Released – Plavix Leads the Way

Drugs.com Stats Center Lists the Top 100 U.S. Drugs in Q1 2012

NEW YORK, July 18, 2012 — Drugs.com, the leading online clinical drug resource, today released first quarter 2012 U.S. prescription sales data for the top 100 drugs.

Blood-thinners, proton-pump inhibitors, antipsychotics and asthma therapeutic categories continue to remain top sellers.

Top Five Drugs by Sales, Q1 2012

Drug Name Sales ($000) % Change (previous quarter)
Plavix 1,620,790 2.85%
Nexium 1,395,981 -3.08%
Abilify 1,340,200 4.46%
Singulair 1,238,134 8.67%
Seroquel 1,161,141 3.29%

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Plavix leads the way with over $1.6 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2012. However, the recent launch of clopidogrel (the generic version of Plavix) may alter these figures in upcoming quarters. Proton-pump inhibitor Nexium sees a small decline, while sales for Abilify and Singulair both exceeded $1 billion. The generic version of Singulair (montelukast) is slated for market entry in Q3 2012.

"The most recent sales data from the first quarter of 2012 highlights the continued stronghold of several branded medications," said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com. "However, with generic versions of Plavix and Lipitor now available and with a number of established brands moving to first-time generic status in the coming years, lower-cost medications will enable patients to have greater access to lifesaving treatments and save billions in healthcare dollars."

Top Sales Gains and Losses in Q1 2012

Atorvastatin and its branded version Lipitor claim both the top gain and loss, respectively, in Q1 2012.

Q1 2012 Top Five Sales Gains

Drug Name Gain ($000) % Change
atorvastatin $447,316 +88.56%
Synagis $109,826 +38.30%
Singulair $98,833 +8.67%
Remicade $82,088 +10.04%
Cymbalta $72,540 +7.58%

Atorvastatin makes the biggest gain, bringing total sales in Q1 2012 to $952 million. As a comparison, Lipitor sales reached $1.9 billion in each of the first three quarters of 2011.

Synagis, MedImmune's monoclonal antibody used for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants and young children, gains 38 percent.

Q1 2012 Top Five Sales Losses

Drug Name Loss ($000) % Change
Lipitor -760,948 -47.51%
Lexapro -227,560 -31.67%
Zyprexa -184,540 -49.69%
Epogen -159,223 -24.52%
Incivek -75,404 -16.88%

Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor lost patent protection in 2011 and sales of the brand dropped to 14th position.

Eli Lilly's Zyprexa drops 43 places to 84th and closes the quarter with $194 million. Sales of Forest Laboratories' popular antidepressant Lexapro also declined due to the availability of its generic counterpart, escitalopram.

Detailed data on the top 100 drugs can be accessed at: http://www.drugs.com/stats/top100/sales

About Drugs.com

Drugs.com is the leading online drug information resource with over seven million unique visitors per month (ComScore, June 2012). 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.

For more information, visit: http://www.drugs.com/

Media Inquiries:

Drugs.com Press Officer
Email
(718) 395 2473

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