IMS HEALTH Reports More Than 110,000 Celebrex Prescriptions Dispensed in Second Week of February, Mail Order Prescriptions Gain Momentum
Wednesday February 17, 4:44 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
LONDON--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 17, 1999-- IMS HEALTH (NYSE:RX - news) today reported that for the week ending Feb. 12, total prescriptions dispensed for Celebrex in the U.S. are estimated to break the 110,000 mark - up from 93,838 total prescriptions dispensed the previous week. Celebrex is the first in a new class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis. IMS HEALTH's regular weekly prescription activity report covering the week ending Feb. 12 becomes available Monday, Feb. 22. IMS HEALTH is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
According to IMS HEALTH, fast uptake within the mail order channel is evident as Celebrex dispensed total prescriptions jumped from 382 for the week ending Jan. 29 to 2,608 for the week ending Feb. 5. The mail order prescription size average is 124 Celebrex tablets per prescription.
Primary Care Physicians, who wrote 48.9 percent of Celebrex prescriptions dispensed in the week ending Feb. 5, represent the majority of physicians prescribing Celebrex. In a slight shift from the previous week, Orthopedic Surgeons prescribed 16.5 percent of the dispensed Celebrex prescriptions, up from 15 percent the week ending Jan. 29. Rheumatologists, which last week was the number two category of prescribers with 20.4 percent of the total, now represents 15.3 percent of Celebrex prescriptions written.
IMS HEALTH's weekly prescription tracking service provides comprehensive coverage of three U.S. retail channels -- chain drug stores, independent pharmacies and food stores with pharmacies -- and includes cash and Medicaid prescriptions as well as third-party reimbursement. The service also provides unique access to mail-order prescriptions, making it the most complete market tracking service covering the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
IMS HEALTH is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With more than $1 billion in 1997 revenue, IMS HEALTH operates in over 90 countries. IMS HEALTH is the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer information partner, with over 40 years' experience in the industry. Key products and services integral to customer day-to-day operations include: market research for prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products; sales management information to optimize sales force productivity; technology enabled selling solutions for sales and marketing decision-making; and technology systems and information services that support managed care organizations. Additional information and previous press releases are available at IMS HEALTH's web site: imshealth.com.
Contact:
IMS HEALTH
Nancy Duckwitz
610/834-5338
or
Michael Gury
203/222-4230 (U.S.)
44-171-393-5864 (U.K.)
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