Top 10 U.S. Drugs for 2012 First Quarter

Health and Healthcare

Published: July 18, 2012 10:56 am

Last Updated: July 18, 2012 10:57 am

Online drug research firm drugs.com today released its list of the top 100 selling drugs in the United States for the first quarter of 2012. The top five sellers include drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) and Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. In addition, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) were among the top 10 sellers.

The list:

Plavix (BMY) — $1.62 billion in sales
Nexium (AZN) — $1.40 billion
Ability (Otsuka) — $1.34 billion
Singulair (MRK) — $1.24 billion
Seroquel (AZN) — $1.16 billion
Advair Diskus (GSK) — $1.14 billion
Crestor (AZN) — $1.12 billion
Cymbalta (LLY) — $1.03 billion
atorvastatin (generic) — $0.95 billion
Humira (ABT) — $0.93 billion

The biggest gain compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 went to the atorvastatin generic, which saw sales rise by nearly $450,000. The generic has drawn sales from Lipitor, made by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), which lost patent protection last year. Lipitor sales fell by more than $760,000 in the quarter to just over $840,000.

A generic version of Plavix — clopidogrel — recently hit the market, so the top of the rankings may be in for a change later this year.

Paul Ausick

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