Top 100 Most Prescribed, Top-Selling Drugs

Megan Brooks

August 01, 2014

Following levothyroxine (with 22.6 million prescriptions) as the most prescribed drug in the United States were the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca), at about 22.5 million prescriptions; the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole (Nexium, AstraZeneca), at roughly 18.6 million prescriptions; and the asthma medications albuterol (Ventolin HFA, GlaxoSmithKline), at 17.5 million prescriptions, and fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (Advair Diskus, GlaxoSmithKline), at 15 million prescriptions.

Rounding out the top 10 most prescribed drugs for the period (in order) were the antihypertensive valsartan (Diovan, Novartis), the insulin glargine injection (Lantus Solostar, sanofi-aventis), the antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta, Eli Lilly), the attention-deficit drug lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse, Shire), and the antiepileptic pregabalin (Lyrica, Pfizer).

After aripiprazole, which had sales of $7.2 billion for the period of July 2013 through June 2014, the next best selling drugs for the period were the arthritis drug adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie, $6.3 billion), esomeprazole (Nexium, $6.3 billion), rosuvastatin (Crestor, nearly $5.6 billion), and the arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel, Amgen, nearly $5.1 billion).

Rounding out the top 10 in sales were Advair Diskus ($5.0 billion), the antiviral drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi, Gilead, $4.4 billion), the arthritis drug infliximab (Remicade, Centocor; $4.3 billion), the insulin glargine injection (Lantus Solostar, sanofi-aventis, $3.8 billion), and the neutropenia drug pegfilgrastim (Neulasta, Amgen; nearly $3.7 billion).

Table 1. Top 100 Drugs by Monthly Prescription
Rank	Drug (Brand Name)	Total Prescriptions to June 2014
1	Synthroid	22,664,826
2	Crestor	22,557,735
3	Nexium	18,656,464
4	Ventolin HFA	17,556,646
5	Advair Diskus	15,003,169
6	Diovan	11,401,503
7	Lantus Solostar	10,154,739
8	Cymbalta	10,065,788
9	Vyvanse	10,019,178
10	Lyrica	9,684,884
11	Spiriva Handihaler	9,518,849
12	Lantus	9,358,961
13	Celebrex	8,815,391
14	Abilify	8,777,842
15	Januvia	8,758,309
16	Namenda	7,640,319
17	Viagra	7,584,152
18	Cialis	7,555,933
19	Zetia	7,411,629
20	Nasonex	7,304,210
21	Suboxone	7,011,882
22	Symbicort	6,948,403
23	Bystolic	6,722,578
24	Flovent HFA	5,623,533
25	Oxycontin	5,559,330
26	Levemir	5,554,827
27	Xarelto	5,014,364
28	Nuvaring	5,011,966
29	Dexilant	4,866,178
30	Thyroid	4,834,481
31	Benicar	4,725,628
32	Voltaren Gel	4,709,766
33	Proventil HFA	4,494,004
34	Tamiflu	4,149,835
35	Novolog	4,044,310
36	Novolog Flexpen	4,006,690
37	Premarin	3,984,357
38	Vesicare	3,873,046
39	Humalog	3,858,256
40	Benicar HCT	3,633,026
41	Lumigan	3,283,060
42	Afluria	3,242,605
43	Lo Loestrin Fe	3,154,488
44	Janumet	3,089,749
45	Ortho-Tri-Cy Lo 28	3,053,738
46	Toprol-XL	3,044,003
47	Pristiq	3,023,546
48	Combivent Respimat	2,994,490
49	Vytorin	2,988,460
50	Travatan Z	2,919,358
51	Focalin XR	2,866,278
52	Pataday	2,757,094
53	Humalog Kwikpen	2,626,530
54	Lunesta	2,590,519
55	Avodart	2,527,583
56	Pradaxa	2,442,678
57	Seroquel XR	2,405,130
58	Strattera	2,387,756
59	Minastrin 24 Fe	2,353,282
60	Evista	2,232,555
61	Chantix	2,151,879
62	Zostavax	2,145,562
63	Humira	1,923,427
64	Victoza 3-Pak	1,902,995
65	Exelon	1,877,942
66	Exforge	1,838,730
67	Combigan	1,821,491
68	Dulera	1,790,677
69	Onglyza	1,784,018
70	Welchol	1,778,218
71	Premarin Vaginal	1,718,405
72	Enbrel	1,627,480
73	Xopenex HFA	1,588,895
74	Ranexa	1,567,961
75	Truvada	1,532,734
76	Alphagan P	1,503,194
77	Viibryd	1,447,730
78	Tradjenta	1,443,791
79	Effient	1,434,572
80	Azor	1,433,045
81	Norvir	1,384,306
82	Actonel	1,339,615
83	Namenda XR	1,319,963
84	Amitiza	1,309,980
85	Aggrenox	1,286,826
86	Lotemax	1,276,480
87	Patanol	1,274,050
88	Levitra	1,273,311
89	Advair HFA	1,272,551
90	Uloric	1,244,536
91	Detrol La	1,225,506
92	Asmanex Twisthaler	1,219,112
93	Lipitor	1,212,376
94	Atripla	1,183,636
95	Prempro Low Dose	1,162,513
96	Latuda	1,123,396
97	Novolog Flxpen Mix 70/30	1,119,855
98	Invokana	1,106,268
99	Epiduo	1,103,330
100	Humulin N	1,071,673

Table 2. Top 100 Drugs by Sales
Rank	Drug (Brand Name)	Sales Through June 2014
1	Abilify	$7,240,043,661
2	Humira	$6,310,742,887
3	Nexium	$6,303,738,580
4	Crestor	$5,672,991,435
5	Enbrel	$5,097,263,350
6	Advair Diskus	$5,064,138,456
7	Sovaldi	$4,469,558,675
8	Remicade	$4,342,356,359
9	Lantus Solostar	$3,829,943,226
10	Neulasta	$3,688,450,342
11	Copaxone	$3,677,307,402
12	Rituxan	$3,361,247,463
13	Spiriva Handihaler	$3,270,501,346
14	Januvia	$3,124,826,108
15	Lantus	$3,011,654,746
16	Atripla	$2,898,264,003
17	Cymbalta	$2,839,722,673
18	Avastin	$2,784,813,413
19	Lyrica	$2,782,036,977
20	Oxycontin	$2,524,152,087
21	Celebrex	$2,435,800,107
22	Epogen	$2,378,212,523
23	Truvada	$2,351,681,656
24	Diovan	$2,177,824,165
25	Levemir	$2,121,663,090
26	Gleevec	$2,087,891,457
27	Herceptin	$2,032,270,434
28	Vyvanse	$1,940,313,035
29	Lucentis	$1,932,528,073
30	Zetia	$1,930,143,528
31	Tecfidera	$1,908,407,807
32	Symbicort	$1,901,446,790
33	Namenda	$1,774,338,290
34	Novolog Flexpen	$1,720,294,797
35	Xarelto	$1,546,602,955
36	Novolog	$1,466,291,783
37	Humalog	$1,418,795,789
38	Suboxone	$1,388,999,843
39	Tysabri	$1,315,848,323
40	Viagra	$1,274,239,087
41	Seroquel XR	$1,266,841,322
42	Victoza 3-Pak	$1,263,623,179
43	Cialis	$1,241,580,547
44	Stelara	$1,221,329,301
45	Alimta	$1,215,044,019
46	Nasonex	$1,190,958,069
47	Avonex	$1,146,712,504
48	Gilenya	$1,143,648,903
49	Humalog Kwikpen	$1,140,418,800
50	Flovent HFA	$1,091,998,384
51	Prezista	$1,079,469,740
52	Janumet	$1,071,110,813
53	Renvela	$1,063,062,816
54	Isentress	$1,045,929,798
55	Procrit	$1,028,448,101
56	Orencia	$1,017,584,725
57	Dexilant	$1,010,512,519
58	Vesicare	$1,001,127,504
59	Stribild	$962,264,200
60	Olysio	$943,547,154
61	Synthroid	$927,886,999
62	Neupogen	$922,013,084
63	Avonex Pen	$920,097,484
64	Reyataz	$918,922,508
65	Zytiga	$918,603,420
66	Xolair	$902,375,287
67	Invega Sustenna	$891,518,099
68	Benicar	$884,750,288
69	Combivent Respimat	$881,992,234
70	Pradaxa	$879,463,846
71	Sensipar	$878,283,696
72	Xgeva	$844,140,641
73	Vytorin	$828,020,808
74	Betaseron	$824,758,830
75	Aranesp	$824,531,232
76	Prevnar 13	$818,701,788
77	Latuda	$803,311,039
78	Afinitor	$800,598,342
79	Lunesta	$778,412,409
80	Ventolin HFA	$771,201,081
81	Complera	$756,268,942
82	Synagis	$754,510,179
83	Bystolic	$736,654,176
84	Zyvox	$733,964,492
85	Gardasil	$717,881,961
86	Sandostatin Lar	$715,506,378
87	Benicar HCT	$699,679,537
88	Treanda	$692,288,820
89	Pristiq	$687,192,710
90	Zostavax	$674,280,328
91	Erbitux	$669,382,439
92	Cimzia	$660,599,949
93	Strattera	$658,818,959
94	Cubicin	$655,269,663
95	Xeloda	$652,443,257
96	Tarceva	$638,909,500
97	Evista	$638,155,000
98	Velcade	$636,704,153
99	Sprycel	$635,192,399
100	Abraxane	$634,678,206