IMS Health: Lipitor 12-month sales were $11.43 billion
Pfizer Inc.'s(PFE) cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor is still the top-selling branded prescription drug in the world, according to IMS Health, a major compiler of sales data for the drug industry.
For the 12-month period ended April 2006, Lipitor had sales of $11.43 billion, with a reduced growth rate of 4.9%.
AstraZeneca PLC's(AZN) heartburn drug Nexium took the No. 2 slot, with 12-month sales growing 16.2%.
Blood thinner Plavix, produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
(BMY) and Sanofi-Aventis(SNY) came in at No. 3, while Merck & Co's(MRK) cholesterol drug Zocor and GlaxoSmithKline PLC's(GSK) asthma medication Seretide took the fourth and fifth slots, respectively.
IMS Health did not immediately release sales figures for Nexium, Plavix, Zocor or Seretide. The group added that the world's top five pharmaceutical corporations were, in descending order: Pfizer, Glaxo, Novartis AG(NVS), Merck, and AstraZeneca. |
