The narcotic pain medication hydrocodone/acetaminophen was the most prescribed generic medication for the 12 months ending September 30, 2014, followed by the blood pressure medication lisinopril, according to a new report. Research firm IMS Health compiled the list of the top 10 most-prescribed generic medications for the past year.
Hydrocodone/acetaminophen had approximately 123.3 million prescriptions, followed by lisinopril at about 103 million prescriptions, the hypothyroid medication levothyroxine sodium at about 95 million prescriptions, the cholesterol-lowering medication atorvastatin calcium at just under 77 million prescriptions, and the blood pressure-lowering amlodipine besylate at about 76.4 million prescriptions.
The other most prescribed generic drugs in the top 10 are the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin at about 73.5 million prescriptions, the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole (RX) at about 73.2 million prescriptions, the diabetes medication metformin HCL at about 61.2 million prescriptions, the antibiotic amoxicillin at about 53.8 million prescriptions, and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide at about 49.6 million prescriptions.
Top 10 Generics Prescribed
| HYCD/APAP | 123,365,902 |
| LISINOPRIL | 103,090,396 |
| LEVOTHYROXINE SOD | 95,170,627 |
| ATORVASTATIN CA | 76,987,591 |
| AMLODIPINE BESY | 76,404,927 |
| SIMVASTATIN | 73,468,752 |
| OMEPRAZOLE (RX) | 73,161,061 |
| METFORMIN HCL | 61,162,279 |
| AMOXICILLIN | 53,807,690 |
| HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE | 49,555,088 |
Source: IMS Health
Top 10 Branded Drugs Prescribed
In contrast, the top five most prescribed branded drugs over the same time period were rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) with about 22.3 million prescriptions, followed by levothyroxine (Synthroid, AbbVie), at about 22.3 million prescriptions; the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole ( Nexium, AstraZeneca), at about 17.8 million prescriptions; the asthma medications albuterol (Ventolin HFA, GlaxoSmithKline), at about 17.8 million prescriptions; and fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (Advair Diskus, GlaxoSmithKline), at about 14.5 million prescriptions.
The remaining five in the top 10 most prescribed drugs for the period (in order) were the insulin glargine injection (Lantus Solostar, sanofi-aventis), the attention-deficit drug lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse, Shire), the antiepileptic drug pregabalin (Lyrica, Pfizer), the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication tiotropium bromide (Spiriva Handihaler, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals), and the antihypertensive drug valsartan (Diovan, Novartis).
| CRESTOR | 22,279,247 |
| SYNTHROID | 22,258,461 |
| NEXIUM | 17,763,935 |
| VENTOLIN HFA | 17,745,136 |
| ADVAIR DISKUS | 14,495,507 |
| LANTUS SOLOSTAR | 10,450,322 |
| VYVANSE | 10,147,910 |
| LYRICA | 9,798,532 |
| SPIRIVA HANDIHALER | 9,555,794 |
| DIOVAN | 9,470,735 |
Source: IMS Health
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Cite this: Top 10 Most Prescribed Generic Drugs Through September - Medscape - Nov 06, 2014.
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