Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8593

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Reuters .
Industry Insider: Tracking the growth of drug sales
Star-Ledger (New Jersey) 2007 Feb 15
http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/pharmaceutical/index.ssf?/base/business-0/1171517910267770.xml&coll=1

Full text:

Global pharmaceutical in leading markets sales grew 5 percent in the year to December, the same rate as recorded in 2005, health-care information company IMS Health reported yesterday.

Sales through retail pharmacies in 13 leading markets, which account for around two-thirds of the world market, totaled $388.3 billion in the 12-month period.

Drug sales growth has slowed around the world in recent years, hit by generic competition to branded medicines and curbs on health-care spending, which have put pressure on prices.

Sales in the top five European markets grew 3 percent at constant exchange rates, while North American sales increased 7 percent.

The largest drug class worldwide remained cholesterol-lowering medicines, which sold $30.5 billion and showed a growth rate of 8 percent.

Pfizer’s Lipitor cholesterol pill remained the top-selling drug in leading markets, with sales of $11.7 billion, followed by AstraZeneca’s Nexium, GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair/Seretide and Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plavix.