Pharmaceutical Sales Exceeded $300 Billion Last Year

Dayton, OHAccording to a new study conducted by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, pharmaceutical sales reached $307 billion in the US last year, the Dayton Business Journal reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">According to the news provider, the study demonstrated that the sales increase was lower than the 5.1 percent jump in 2009 and the amount of prescription medicines consumed only rose 0.5 percent in 2010.

"Last year, we saw the convergence of key dynamics leading to diminished growth in drug spending, which included the greater use of generics, loss of patent protection for major branded products, slower demand and less spending on new therapies," said Michael Kleinrock, director of research development at IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

Despite the relatively low numbers in 2010, spending on prescription medicine has nearly doubled over the past decade, the news source said. In 2001, pharmaceutical sales were at $172 billion.

Lipitor, which was one of the top-selling medications in 2010, is used to treat high cholesterol, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.