Zocor "Will Be World's Top-Selling Drug In 2005"

Merck & Co's coronary disease treatment Zocor (simvastatin) will be theworld's top-selling drug in 2005, according to a new study from Datamonitor, available through the Marketletter's offices.

Zocor is now the world's fifth best-seller, with sales up 50% in first-half 1996. The study notes the boost the drug has received from the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study and the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events (CARE) study, and also that Merck has made wide use of managed care and disease managed initiatives to build market share for its products. Also, the possibility of increased patent protection to December 2005 means that the product's sales could continue to rise for the next decade.

Top 25 Drugs - 2005 Forecast 2005 Rank Company Drug Generic Sales ($m) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Merck & Co Zocor simvastatin 2470 2 Pfizer Norvasc amlodipine 1960 3 Merck & Co Cozaar losartan 1680 4 Amgen Epogen erythropoietin 1104 5 Glaxo Wellcome Serevent salmeterol 1090 6 Glaxo Wellcome Valtrex valaciclovir 1080 7 Johnson & Johnson Propulsid cisapride 1000 8 Warner-Lambert n/a atorvastatin 960 9 Pfizer n/a atorvastatin 960 10 Astra Losec omeprazole 940 11 Novartis (Sandoz) Lamisil terbinafine 900 12 Eli Lilly Prozac fluoxetine 800 13 Glaxo Wellcome VX-478 750 14 Novartis (Sandoz) Lescol fluvastatin 750 15 Pfizer Diflucan fluconazole 750 16 SmithKline Beecham Famvir famciclovir 740 17 Bayer Adalat CC nifedipine 680 18 Glaxo Wellcome Zantac ranitidine 670 19 Johnson & Johnson Orth-Novum norethindrone 672 20 Glaxo Wellcome Epivir lamivudine/3TC 660 21 American Home Products Alredase tolrestat 640 22 Abbott Hytrin terazosin 600 23 Pfizer Cardura doxazosin 600 24 Glaxo Wellcome Pylorid ranitidine bismuth citrate 600 25 Glaxo Wellcome Retrovir zidovudine 600 Source: Datamonitor --------------------------------------------------------------------------