Statins and blood pressure drugs make up eight of the top ten most commonly used prescription drugs in Australia. But when it comes to cost to taxpayers, it is adalimumab that tops the list, costing the government over $300 million in 2014–15.
Top 10 drugs by DDD/1000 pop/day *
|
Drug |
DDD/1000 pop/day |
|
1. atorvastatin |
54.65 |
|
2. rosuvastatin |
39.47 |
|
3. paracetamol |
34.14 |
|
4. perindopril |
33.80 |
|
5. amlodipine |
30.08 |
|
6. irbesartan |
27.33 |
|
7. esomeprazole |
25.27 |
|
8. candesartan |
23.41 |
|
9. ramipril |
21.62 |
|
10. telmisartan |
18.84 |
Top 10 drugs by prescription counts
|
Drug |
Prescriptions |
|
1. atorvastatin |
7 787 189 |
|
2. esomeprazole |
7 170 908 |
|
3. rosuvastatin |
7 070 240 |
|
4. paracetamol |
6 446 680 |
|
5. pantoprazole |
4 489 551 |
|
6. perindopril |
4 015 432 |
|
7. metformin |
3 589 937 |
|
8. fluticasone and salmeterol |
3 147 115 |
|
9. irbesartan |
2 992 442 |
|
10. salbutamol |
2 976 106 |
Top 10 drugs by cost to government
|
Drug |
Cost to government (A$) |
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 figures are based on PBS and RPBS prescriptions from the date of supply, and do not include private prescriptions or prescriptions under the co-payment
† 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