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ISSUE 6 DECEMBER
Top 10 drugs

Top 10 drugs

These tables show the top 10 subsidised drugs in 2009-10.

Table 1
Top 10 drugs supplied by DDD/1000 pop/day*†
Constituent drug PBS/RPBS‡
1. atorvastatin 80.83
2. irbesartan 33.85
3. perindopril 28.60
4. ramipril 27.35
5. simvastatin 25.55
6. rosuvastatin 25.51
7. paracetamol 24.01
8. candesartan 22.16
9. esomeprazole 21.49
10. aspirin 17.67
DDDs in this table include use in combination products
Table 2
Top 10 drugs by prescription counts†
Drug PBS/RPBS‡
1. atorvastatin 11 017 309
2. esomeprazole 6 256 960
3. simvastatin 4 720 865
4. rosuvastatin 4 688 857
5. paracetamol 4 290 327
6. perindopril 3 999 467
7. pantoprazole 3 815 186
8. metformin hydrochloride 3 390 708
9. atenolol 3 140 001
10. irbesartan 3 118 022
Table 3
Top 10 drugs by cost to government†
Drug Cost to government DDD/1000 pop/day* Prescriptions
($A) PBS/RPBS‡ PBS/RPBS‡
1. atorvastatin 633 711 616 68.94 11 017 309
2. rosuvastatin 291 559 863 25.51 4 688 857
3. ranibizumab 237 199 442 - ¶ 113 126
4. clopidogrel 209 904 583 10.39 2 993 979
5. esomeprazole 203 325 839 21.49 6 256 960
6. salmeterol and fluticasone 167 529 715 - § 2 948 869
7. olanzapine 159 202 466 3.00 935 179
8. simvastatin 154 029 119 20.95 4 720 865
9. adalimumab 152 526 189 0.29 85 616
10. rituximab 119 344 969 - ¶ 65 225
* The defined daily dose (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.
† Based on date of supply. Does not include private prescriptions or prescriptions under PBS co-payment.
‡ PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, RPBS Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
World Health Organization has not allocated a DDD for this drug
§ Combination drugs do not have a DDD allocated

Source: Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee (DUSC) Drug Utilisation Database, as at September 2010. © Commonwealth of Australia.