Prescription drug sales in the United States grew to $300.3 billion in 2009, a 5.1 percent over the previous year, according IMS Health. That was significantly better that the anemic growth seen in 2008. Nevertheless, the market research firm noted that the growth remains at historically low levels.

 

“While the 32 innovative products launched last year brought important new treatment options to patients in a number of disease areas, including cancer, thrombosis, and atrial fibrillation, they drove only a limited increase in drug spending,” says Murray Aitken, senior vice president of  Healthcare Insight for IMS.  

 

The use of generic products, including branded generics, continued to rise last year and now represent 75 percent of all dispensed prescriptions in the United States, up from 57 percent in 2004. The total number of generic prescriptions dispensed increased 5.9 percent in 2009, while the number of branded prescriptions dispensed declined 7.6 percent.

 

“The greater availability of generic options, growing differentials in co-pays between brands and generics, and efforts by patients, insurers and employers to encourage appropriate use of lower-cost alternatives were all factors in the changing mix of medicines used in patient treatment last year,” says Aitken.

 

The availability of new first-time generic versions of drugs to treat epilepsy, migraine headaches, and immune system disorders had less of an impact on the sector that generic launches in previous year, IMS noted.

 

The stronger demand for prescription drugs came in the face of the weak economy. The volume of dispensed prescription in retail channels rose to 3.9 billion. That represented a 2.1 percent rate of growth,  up from just a 1 percent rate of growth in 2008. Although IMS said the volume of new therapy starts in 17 major chronic disease areas declined by about 1 percent, the volume of add-on therapy starts, switches, and refills rose by nearly 2 percent last year.

 

Antipsychotics remained the top-selling class of medications in the United States with 2009 prescription sales of $14.6 billion, the same as the previous year. Lipid regulators continued as the largest therapy class in the United States by dispensed prescription volume, growing at a 5 percent pace to 212 million prescriptions dispensed in 2009. Sales of lipid regulators, though, fell 10 percent last year to $13.1 billion as a shift toward lower-cost generic alternatives continued.