Analysis of top-selling medications in Poland and comparison with other European countries, detailing prescription and OTC drugs.
🔗 Read the article on wyborcza.pl
[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]
Over the past year, nearly 1.5 billion medication packages were purchased from pharmacies in Poland, including both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, excluding dietary supplements. Prescription medications accounted for slightly more than half of these sales (nearly 795 million). A pharmaceutical market analysis by PEX identified popular active substances rather than brand names. Bisoprolol is the top selling prescription substance, used for high blood pressure, heart rhythm disorders, and heart failure; Metformin is second, used for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes; Rosuvastatin ranks third for high cholesterol; Ramipril is fourth for high blood pressure; and Atorvastatin is fifth for high cholesterol. For over-the-counter drugs, combination products like cold remedies are highly purchased (around 70 million packages). Among single active substances, Ibuprofen is the top seller (over 28 million packages), used for pain and fever. Second is Xylometazoline nasal sprays for congestion; third is magnesium combined with pyridoxine/Vitamin B6 for deficiencies and stress; fourth is acetylsalicylic acid for fever and cardiovascular prevention; and fifth is Vitamin D (cholecalciferol). International comparisons show varied top sellers: Metamizole leads in Spain, Paracetamol in the Czech Republic, Apixaban in Italy, and Vitamin D in Lithuania. Overall, when combining prescription and over-the-counter sales in Poland, Ibuprofen is followed by Bisoprolol for high blood pressure, then Metformin for diabetes, and Rosuvastatin for cholesterol.
