TOP 200 DRUGS OF
2000
This year, we are pleased to introduce a new table—The 20 Leading Product Categories for 2000 Ranked by New Prescriptions Dispensed. Lipitor Pulls Ahead—Captures #1 After 8 years in the number one spot, Premarin, the Wyeth-Ayerst estrogen replacement product lost two percentage points from the 1999 total, and falls to number two, following Parke-Davis’ Lipitor, the cholesterol-reducing drug. Lipitor saw a 29% increase in total scripts dispensed from 1999’s figures, and moved from the number three spot in 1999, to number one in 2000. Other top ranking products that showed a noticeable gain from 1999 figures were Bristol-Myers’ Glucophage, with a 21% increase in total scripts, and Watson’s hydrocodone/acetaminophen (HYCD/APAP) with a 20% increase, landing it at the number four spot. The pain relief product was also the number one new prescription dispensed in 2000. COX-2 Inhibitors Have a Blockbuster Year Searle’s Celebrex jumped 41% from 1999 in total prescriptions dispensed, and 18% in new prescriptions dispensed. In dollar volume, the drug showed a 52% increase from 1999, and moved from 12th place last year to place 6th this year in total dollar volume, with a total of over $2 billion in sales. Vioxx, Merck’s contribution to the COX-2 inhibitor category, saw a 323% increase from scripts dispensed in 1999—obviously due to the fact that it was introduced in the middle of that year. The drug also saw a 231% increase in new prescriptions dispensed from the 1999 figures, and a 308% increase in sales, for a total of over $1.5 billion in sales. This year, the COX-2 inhibitor category itself made it to the list of the 20 Leading Product Categories for 2000 Ranked by Total Prescriptions Dispensed. Over 22 million scripts were written for COX-2 inhibitors in 1999. The category also rose eight positions, from number sixteen to number eight, in terms of total dollar sales by product category. In our new table, The 20 Leading Product Categories for 2000 Ranked by New Prescriptions Dispensed, COX-2 inhibitors reached number 20 with a 70% growth from 1999 to 2000. Even more remarkable was the increase in dollar sales for the COX-2 inhibitor category. Total sales for 2000 exceeded $3.6 billion, which is a whopping 105% increase from last year’s sales figures. That was the biggest percentage increase of any of the top 20 leading product categories ranked by sales—more than double the next biggest gain (codeine and combination products). Effects of DTC Ads Begin to Show Certain drugs showed large growth spurts in the year 2000, perhaps due to the increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads which littered all forms of media—television, radio, and print. Consumers who previously would just take their doctor’s recommendation on what medication to take, have been starting to come into the doctor’s office with ideas of their own. In some ways, this has been beneficial to patients. Advertisements on TV or in magazines have made some people aware of conditions they didn’t realize they had, or of new treatments for conditions that they were aware of. In certain cases, DTC ads have made patients aware that they are not alone in suffering from various conditions, and that help is available. Allergic rhinitis, in particular, is a category that has been heavily advertised to the public. And the results can be seen in the substantial increases that some of the products had from 1999 to 2000. For example, Aventis’ antihistamine, Allegra, saw a 38% increase in total prescriptions dispensed and a 35% increase in new prescriptions, and Allegra-D saw a 31% increase in total, and a 21% increase in new scripts. Schering’s Nasonex also saw a 38% increase in total scripts from 1999 figures and a 32% increase in new scripts, while the company’s Claritin, although only realizing a 4% increase from last year, is holding its own as number nine in the list of top 200 total prescriptions dispensed. Pfizer’s Zyrtec saw a 29% gain in total scripts and a 26% gain in new scripts. Other drugs that were heavily advertised last year include Pfizer’s Viagra, up 26% in total prescriptions and 25% in new prescriptions, and Merck’s Singulair, up 69% in total scripts, and 63% in new scripts. As DTC ads become more and more common, we may see future increases in prescriptions for products for depression, allergies, arthritis, and gastrointestinal problems. Aging Baby Boomers Lead to Sales Baby boomers are beginning to purchase an increasing amount of drugs (and not the sort they were buying in Woodstock in the 1960s). As baby boomers age, they face many of the chronic conditions that come with aging—hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and arthritis. They are also confronted with menopause, and possibly, sexual dysfunction. Already there have been steep increases in the use of drugs for diabetes and hypertension—these, and prescriptions for “lifestyle” drugs (ie, Viagra), will continue to rise as the population ages. A full half of the top 10 total scripts dispensed in 2000 were written for medications that are used to primarily treat chronic diseases and conditions affecting people as they age: Lipitor (for cholesterol), Premarin (estrogen replacement), Synthroid (thyroid conditions), Norvasc (hypertension), and Glucophage (diabetes). Those five drugs accounted for almost 2 million prescriptions written in 2000. The Prescription Drug Market The long-term care market showed the largest increase in the year 2000, jumping 19% in total scripts, 20% in new scripts, and 18% in refills from 1999. This increase is most likely a reflection of the growing geriatric population in the United States. Despite the gains, however, it still has a very small market share at under 5% in all categories. Chains maintained their lead, capturing over 50% of the market—specifically 53.1% of the total prescriptions written in 2000 were filled in chains, 55.2% of new scripts were filled in chains, and 50.7% of all prescriptions refilled were done so in chain pharmacies. Independent pharmacies treaded water, with a mere 1% increase in total prescriptions filled in 2000, bringing them to 24.4% of the total market. They lost two percentage points in the new scripts arena, bringing them to 23.4% of the new scripts filled, and gained 3% in refills, rising to 25.6% of the refill market. Mail order saw a good-sized gain from last year in total prescriptions (8%), and even more so in new scripts (11%), but it still holds a small market share—only 4.8% total. A Big Market in Mental Health Although only one antidepressant (Zoloft) made it to the top 10 of total prescriptions, on the money side, manufacturers of such medications had nothing to be depressed about. Two of the top grossing drugs in 2000 were antidepressants—Lilly’s Prozac and Pfizer’s Zoloft. Also among the top 10 earners was the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa. And coming in at number eleven was the antianxiety agent, Paxil. The SSRI category ranked third in the top 20 categories ranked by total prescriptions dispensed, third in new prescriptions dispensed, and second in total dollar sales. Dollar sales for the SSRI/SNRI category rose 19% from 1999 to reach a huge $8.33 billion. Projections for the New Century With an aging, and often overweight, society, increases are likely to be seen in medications for diseases such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Drugs that improve quality of life, such as antihistamines, estrogen replacement products, and drugs for sexual dysfunction, are other candidates for future growth. The introduction of generics for some of the top grossers will shake things up in the coming years, but those categories should continue to remain strong.
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