Which country takes the most prescription drugs?

Asked by: Harrison Abshire  |  Last update: November 5, 2023
Score: 4.9/5 (25 votes)

ISSUE: Compared with other high-income countries, the United States spends the most per capita on prescription drugs.

What country uses most prescription drugs?

Prescription drug statistics 2023
  • Data suggests that among those who take prescription medications, the average number of medications taken is four. ...
  • Research on prescription drug spending suggests that the United States consumes the most prescription drugs.

Do Americans take more prescription drugs than other countries?

Key Background. The U.S. does not buy or use more drugs than the rest of the world—research puts consumption on par with other wealthy countries—it simply pays more for what it does use. This is in line with its spending on healthcare overall, which is far greater than in similar countries and achieves far less.

Who uses the most prescription drugs?

Overall, prescription drug use was higher among non-Hispanic white (50.0%) persons compared with non-Hispanic black (44.7%), Hispanic (37.1%), and non-Hispanic Asian (33.4%) persons (Figure 2). Prescription drug use was also higher among non-Hispanic black persons compared with non-Hispanic Asian and Hispanic persons.

What country uses the most pharmaceuticals per capita?

The United States spends almost $1,000 per person per year on pharmaceuticals. That's around 40 percent more than the next highest spender, Canada, and more than twice as much as than countries like France and Germany spend.

New Study Finds US Pays More Than Most Countries Do For Prescription Drugs

17 related questions found

Which country is an pharma king?

The pharma king of the world, India.

Is the United States the most medicated country in the world?

About 130 million Americans — many far healthier than the Heckmans — swallow, inject, inhale, infuse, spray, and pat on prescribed medication every month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates. Americans buy much more medicine per person than any other country.

What is the number 1 most prescribed drug?

Atorvastatin calcium was the most prescribed drug in 2022, with 2.8% of claims. Atorvastatin is a statin used to treat abnormal lipid levels and prevent cardiovascular disease. It blocks an enzyme that helps make cholesterol and causes an increase in the breakdown of cholesterol.

What is the most prescribed drug in America?

The most prescribed drug, atorvastatin (sold under brand Lipitor), was prescribed to 24.5 million people in the U.S. in 2019, or 7.5% of the population. It was one of many statin medications listed, which are used to prevent cardiovascular disease and treat abnormal lipid levels.

Why are prescription drugs so high in the US?

Key takeaways: Drug makers set the prices, which makes medications more expensive. Companies use the drug patent system to limit competition and keep prices high. A lack of research on drug comparisons can lead to fewer low-cost options on the market.

Does the US pay the most for prescription drugs?

According to a 2021 study by the RAND Corporation, a non-profit global policy think tank, prices of prescription drugs in the U.S. are 2.4 times higher than the average prices of nine other nations (Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

Where do most prescription drugs in the US come from?

As of August 2019, only 28 percent of the manufacturing facilities making APIs to supply the U.S. market were in our country. By contrast, the remaining 72 percent of the API manufacturers supplying the U.S. market were overseas, and 13 percent are in China.

Is America overmedicated?

The prescribing of multiple medications to individual patients (called “polypharmacy” in the scientific literature) has reached epidemic proportions. More than four in ten older adults take five or more prescription medications, triple the rate from twenty years ago. Nearly 20 percent take ten drugs or more.

What percentage of people take prescription drugs in the US?

More than 131 million people — 66 percent of all adults in the United States — use prescription drugs. Utilization is particularly high for older people and those with chronic conditions. Prescription drugs are costly.

What are the most expensive drugs in the US?

1. Zolgensma – $2,125,000. Zolgensma received FDA approval in May 2019. It has remained the most expensive drug in the U.S., with a one-time cost of $2.1 million for a course of treatment.

What prescription drugs make the most money?

What Are The 10 Biggest Money-Making Prescription Drugs, And What Do They Treat?
  • Remicade (infliximab): $5.3 billion. ...
  • Januvia (sitagliptin), $4.8 billion. ...
  • Advair Diskus (fluticasone/salmeterol), $4.7 billion. ...
  • Lyrica (pregabalin): $4.4 billion. ...
  • Crestor (rosuvastatin): $4.2 billion. ...
  • Neulasta (pegfilgrastim): $4.2 billion.

What is the highest class drug?

Drugs in all classes, not just those in 'Class A', are very dangerous. The three categories of drugs are Class A, Class B and Class C: heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD are Class A drugs.

Which is the biggest pharma city in world?

Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC) is the world's largest integrated cluster in Hyderabad for pharmaceutical industries with thrust on R&D and manufacturing. The cluster has been recognized as National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) by Government of India, given its national and international importance.

What is the pharmaceutical capital of the US?

1. Boston-Cambridge, MA. There is no surprise that Boston is the top US pharmaceutical hub with well over 100 pharmaceutical companies in Cambridge and the Kendall Square area alone.

Who are the Big 5 in pharma?

The five biggest pharmaceutical companies by market cap are Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, AbbVie and Merck. The biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world are responsible for developing and manufacturing the vast majority of prescription drugs, giving them a key role in the life science industry.

What medications does the US get from China?

The U.S. relies on imported medicines from China in a big way. Antibiotics, over-the-counter pain meds and the stuff that stops itching and swelling — a lot of it is imported from China.

Does the US get pharmaceuticals from China?

Chinese firms have become major suppliers of US pharmaceuticals. Since 2020, US imports of Chinese pharmaceuticals (defined by the US tariff code to include packaged medicaments, vaccines, blood, organic cultures, bandages, and organs) has grown by 485 percent, going from $2.1B in 2020 to $10.3B in 2022.

Are any drugs made in the USA?

Of the 100 brand-name drugs, 32 were finished in the United States, while 67 were finished in countries in the European Union, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.