Cymbalta reigns as the most-prescribed antidepressant medication in the United States. A listing compiled by IMS Health of the 100 nation’s most prescribed drugs between July 2013 and June 2014 show pharmacists wrote out more than three times as many prescriptions for Cymbalta during that period as they did for the second-most prescribed
antidepressant, Pristiq, Mental Health Daily reported.
The following ranking identifies the three most-prescribed antidepressant medications for 2013-2014, which all earned places on IMS Health’s top 100, and seven others that didn’t make that list but appeared likely to be among the top 10 antidepressants.
1. Cymbalta was the most commonly prescribed antidepressant during the time period involved with nearly 10.07 million prescriptions monthly, according to Mental Health Daily. Cymbalta was approved by the FDA in 2004.
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2. Pristiq, developed and marketed by Wyeth, which is part of Pfizer, was the second most commonly prescribed depressant for 2013-2014 with more than 3.02 million prescriptions monthly, Mental Health Daily reported. Pristiq was first approved by the FDA in 2008,
according to Drugs.com.
3. Viibryd, developed by Merck and approved by the FDA in 2011, was the third most commonly prescribed antidepressant for 2013-2014 with nearly 1.45 million prescriptions monthly, Mental Health Daily reported.
4. Though it didn’t make the IMS Health Top 100, Celexa likely ranks high among depressants for the time period involved, as Mental Health Daily reported it saw 37.7 million prescriptions — or more than 3 million a month — in 2011.
5. Zoloft, which filled more than 37 million prescriptions — also more than 3 million a month — in 2011, according to Mental Health Daily.
6. Prozac, which saw more than 24.5 million prescriptions — which is more than 2 million a month — in 2011, according to Mental Health Daily.
7. Desyrel, which Mental Health Daily reported in 2011 saw more than 22.5 million prescriptions.
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8. Lexapro, which Mental Health Daily reported filled about 27.7 million prescriptions in 2009, when it “was considered the most popular antidepressant medication on the market.”
9. Paxil, which filled nearly 14 million prescriptions in 2011, according to Mental Health Daily.
10. Effexor, for which 12.5 million prescriptions had been written in 2011, according to Mental Health Daily.
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