NEW YORK, May 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Drugs.com, the leading online clinical drug resource, today released first quarter 2013 U.S. prescription sales data for the top 100 drugs.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130506/PH07894-a )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130506/PH07894-b )
The top five drugs have minor shifts in rank but exhibit positive growth for Q1 2013. Abilify, Otsuka's second generation antipsychotic, and Nexium, AstraZeneca's leading acid blocker, rank as the top two drugs by sales for the fourth quarter in a row. Both agents hover in the $1.5 billion range for quarterly sales.
Top Five Drugs by Sales, Q1 2013
| Drug Name | Sales ($000) | % Change(previous quarter) |
| Abilify | $1,526,228 | 3.24% |
| Nexium | $1,458,964 | 1.21% |
| Cymbalta | $1,296,843 | 5.65% |
| Crestor | $1,295,760 | 1.59% |
| Advair Diskus | $1,277,171 | 6.00% |
Cymbalta, Eli Lilly's heavily promoted depression and pain agent, moves past Crestor, AstraZeneca's leading statin, even as Cymbalta faces end-of-year patent loss. Advair Diskus, GlaxoSmithKline's cornerstone asthma and COPD inhaler, grabs the fifth spot.
Top Five Sales Gains, Q1 2013
| Drug Name | Gain ($000) | % Change(previous quarter) |
| Tamiflu | $155,019 | +65.38% |
| Synagis | $130,943 | +46.47% |
| Advair | $72,298 | +6.00% |
| Diskus | ||
| Cymbalta | $69,359 | +5.65% |
| Diovan | $63,538 | +13.39% |
The most recent U.S. influenza season hit long and hard. Roche's Tamiflu jumps 32 spots and posts a 65 percent sales increase. Other respiratory medications, including Synagis for pediatric respiratory syncytial virus and the aforementioned Advair, also saw a boost in sales gains.
"Seasonal fluctuations in pharmaceutical sales are common, particularly in cold, flu and allergy seasons," said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com. "This year's flu activity, which started about four weeks early and was relatively severe, is evident in the Tamiflu numbers."
Top Five Sales Losses, Q1 2013
| Drug Name | Loss ($000) | % Change(previous quarter) |
| modafinil | -$46,169 | -17.44% |
| Avonex | -$33,647 | -9.05% |
| Incivek | -$32,155 | -12.08% |
| enoxaparin | -$29,058 | -7.37% |
| Truvada | -$28,924 | -5.11% |
The drugs with the top five dollar losses for the quarter each forfeit between $28 and $46 million. Avonex and Incivek make repeat appearances from last quarter.
Modafinil, the generic version of Teva's Provigil used to improve wakefulness, was launched in Q2 2012 but sales have since slowed. Sales of Biogen Idec's Avonex continue to slide in response to the approval of oral multiple sclerosis drugs, which might include their own Tecfidera. Incivek sales also dropped — new Hepatitis C approvals are in the wings, and a serious skin reaction resulted in a newly penned Box Warning for Incivek.
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 nine million unique visitors per month (ComScore, March 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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