Hormone Therapy, Menopause Treatment

Hormone Therapy Statistics
As of July 10, 2009

IMS Health, a healthcare information company, compiles one of the most complete, national-level prescription databases in the United States. NAMS relies on this database for statistics regarding the prescription menopause hormone therapy market, defined by IMS Health as estrogens, progestogens, and estrogen-progestogen and estrogen-androgen combinations both indicated and used for menopausal use.

Prescriptions

The National Prescription Audit, derived from IMS Health’s Xponent, captures roughly 70% market share of all prescriptions, then uses projection methodology from a stratified and geographically balanced sample to represent 100% market share coverage of US prescription activity at retail, mail service, long-term care, and managed care outlets. Highlights include:

During each of the last several years, fewer prescriptions have been dispensed in the United States for menopause hormone therapy (HT). In 2008, 42.262 million prescriptions were dispensed, down 6.2% from 45.054 million during 2007. This compares to 57.861 million HT prescriptions dispensed in 2004.
Oral Premarin (conjugated estrogens) remained the most dispensed estrogen therapy during 2008, responsible for 23.3% of all dispensed scripts, down 13% versus 2007.
Oral medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) remained the most dispensed progestogen.
Estrogen-progestogen combinations were responsible for 14.8% of dispensed prescriptions during 2008, about even with 2007 levels. The most dispensed combination remained Prempro (low-dose).
Estrogen-androgen combinations were responsible for 4.3% of dispensed prescriptions during 2008.

Wholesale Sales Dollars
National Sales Perspectives, derived from IMS Health’s DDD service, tracks sales activity for all pharmaceutical distribution channels, including major retail food stores and chains, mass merchandisers, independent pharmacies, mail service pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, closed-wall HMOs, long-term care, home health care, and prisons/universities. Sales information is compiled from more than 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers and more than 300 wholesaler and chain warehouses. The following highlights include only US prescription drugs at wholesale prices, with mail service not projected:

Despite a decline in prescriptions dispensed, total sales dollars (wholesale levels) in the United States for HT have risen slightly over the last few years.
During 2008, total sales dollars reached $2.102 billion, up 3.7% from $2.026 billion in 2007. This compares to $2.076 billion in 2004.


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Copyright © IMS Health. Used by NAMS with permission.
IMS Health gives permission to the media to include these data in their reports, provided that the source, IMS Health, is referenced.
Hormone Therapy, Menopause Treatment