Four billion prescriptions were filled in the US in the year 2011 and at a cost of $227 billion according to the World Pharmaceutical Market Summary. The top five therapy classes of drugs were statins, antiulcerants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and antihypertensives. The top five drugs sold were, Lipitor, Plavix, Nexium, Seretide, and Crestor. The top five drug companies were Pfizer, Novartis, AstraZenica, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline.
It is shocking that all of these drugs are massively overused, often as an off-label application that is not approved by the FDA. We are a massively over-medicated society!
