Top 10 drugs

 

Table 1 - Top 10 drugs by DDD/1000 pop/day *

Drug	DDD/1000 pop/day
1. atorvastatin	54.65
2. rosuvastatin	39.47
3. paracetamol	34.14
4. perindopril	33.80
5. amlodipine	30.08
6. irbesartan	27.33
7. esomeprazole	25.27
8. candesartan	23.41
9. ramipril	21.62
10. telmisartan	18.84

 

Table 2 Top 10 drugs by prescription counts

Drug	Prescriptions
1. atorvastatin	7 787 189
2. esomeprazole	7 170 908
3. rosuvastatin	7 070 240
4. paracetamol	6 446 680
5. pantoprazole	4 489 551
6. perindopril	4 015 432
7. metformin	3 589 937
8. fluticasone and salmeterol	3 147 115
9. irbesartan	2 992 442
10. salbutamol	2 976 106

 

Table 3 Top 10 drugs by cost to government

Drug	Cost to government (A$)	DDD/1000 pop/day *	Prescriptions
1. adalimumab	311 616 305	0.57	176 062
2. rosuvastatin	206 589 091	39.47	7 070 240
3. aflibercept	192 839 767	†	123 123
4. ranibizumab	179 612 417	†	116 311
5. fluticasone and salmeterol	175 215 964	†	3 147 115
6. esomeprazole	174 179 985	25.27	7 170 908
7. etanercept	164 075 133	0.31	93 629
8. rituximab	156 563 805	†	46 763
9. insulin glargine	142 760 966	7.45	347 652
10. fingolimod	134 752 870	0.19	58 858

* DDD/thousand population/day is a more useful measure of drug utilisation than prescription counts. It shows how many people in every thousand Australians are taking the standard dose of a drug every day. DDD includes use in combination products. The calcuation is based on ABS 3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics for June 2014 (as at December 2014).

† The World Health Organization has not allocated a DDD for this drug.

DDD defined daily dose, PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, RPBS Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Source: Department of Health, 15 June 2016. © Commonwealth of Australia