Crestor Tops List of Best-Selling Drugs

By Robert Lowes
Medscape Medical News

Nov. 1, 2013 -- The cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor (rosuvastatin) was the nation's most prescribed drug in the past 12 months, according to a new report from research firm IMS Health. New prescriptions and refills of the drug totaled 23.7 million.

The report looks at the top 100 selling drugs in the U.S., by prescriptions and sales. It tracked data over a 12-month period through September.

On the sales side, the antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) racked up the highest sales with nearly $6.4 billion. Abilify is prescribed to treat schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, plus other things.

The 10 top-selling drugs reflect little change since calendar year 2012, according to IMS Health.

Here are the top 10 drugs by number of prescriptions:

Crestor: 23.7 millionSynthroid: 23.4 millionNexium: 20.7 millionCymbalta: 19.4 millionVentolin HFA: 17.5 millionAdvair Diskus: 16.6 millionDiovan: 13.1 millionVyvanse: 10.4 millionSpiriva Handihaler: 9.6 millionLantus: 9.4 million

Here are the top 10 drugs by total sales:

Abilify: $6.4 billionNexium: $6 billionCymbalta: $5.4 billionHumira: $5.4 billionCrestor: $5.3 billionAdvair Diskus: $5.1 billionEnbrel: $4.7 billionRemicade: $4 billionCopaxone: $3.8 billionNeulasta: $3.5 billion

The complete list can be found on Medscape.

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