The Top Prescription Drugs of 2011 in the United States: Antipsychotics and Antidepressants Once Again Lead CNS Therapeutics

Abstract

Data for the top prescription drugs of 2011 in the Unites States was recently released by IMS Health,1 and as we have done each year,2,3 we will break down the key stats as they apply to CNS therapeutics. Total prescription drug sales in the United States increased from $308.6 billion in 2010 to $319.9 billion in 2011 (an ∼3.5% increase despite pressure from generics), with a concomitant increase in prescriptions dispensed (3.99 billion in 2010 compared to 4.02 billion in 2011).1 As discussed last year,3 a combination of generic versus brand medications and a weak economy have negatively impacted prescription drug sales. In parallel, patients continuing on therapies for chronic disease shifted from brand name medications to generic equivalents; thus, the lists of the top 200 drugs in terms of sales and that of prescriptions dispensed share no overlap.1−4 For example, in 2010, Lipitor was number 1 in terms of sales ($7.3 billion) and number 4 in terms of prescriptions dispensed (∼46 million). With the loss of patent protection in 2011, Lipitor still remained number 1 in terms of sales ($7.7 billion) in 2011 (Table 1), but Lipitor dropped off the top 25 most prescribed medicines in 2011, while simvastatin, generic Zocor, increased to number 3, with ∼97 million prescriptions dispensed.1−4