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adults spent more on Lipitor in 2004 than
any other drug
Newswise — With a total
nearly $5 billion, Lipitor, a
cholesterol-reducing drug, ranked first in
terms of total spending on prescription
medicines by adults ages 18 to 64 in 2004,
and another cholesterol-fighting drug, Zocor,
ranked fourth at $2.3 billion, according to
the latest News and Numbers from the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Rounding out the top
five prescribed drugs for adults were
second- and third-ranked Nexium ($2.7
billion) and Prevacid ($2.4 billion) –
proton-pump inhibitor drugs that reduce
stomach acid -- and Zoloft, an
antidepressant ($1.9 billion), which ranked
fifth.
AHRQ data also found
that:
• For people age 65 and
older, Lipitor and Zocor ranked first and
second in total spending ($4.35 billion and
$2.4 billion, respectively), followed by
Plavix, an antiplatlet drug ($1.7 billion),
Norvasc, a calcium channel blocker that can
be used to treat high blood pressure and
certain kinds of chest pain, such as angina
($1.5 billion), and Nexium ($1.5 billion).
• For children age 17
and under, the top five drugs when ranked by
total expenses were Singulair ($680
million), a medication that can be used to
control asthma, ranked first; Concerta ($490
million), Strattera ($430 million), and
Adderall ($410 million), drugs commonly used
to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder, ranked second, third and fifth,
respectively; and Zyrtec, an antihistamine
($420 million), ranked fourth.
AHRQ, which is part of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, works to enhance the quality,
safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of
health care in the United States. The data
in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are
taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS), a highly detailed source of
information on the health services used by
Americans, the frequency with which they use
them, the cost of those services, and how
they are paid. More information is available
in The Top Five Outpatient Prescription
Drugs Ranked by the Expense for Children,
Adults, and the Elderly, 2004 .
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