Most used medicines: top 10 in the USA and India
The ten generic medicines (active ingredients) prescribed most in the USA, and the ten found in the most medicine brands in India. Click a medicine for its uses, side effects and brands.
USA: most prescribed medicines (2023)
| # | Medicine | Mainly for | Prescriptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atorvastatin | lowers cholesterol | 115.3 million |
| 2 | Metformin | type 2 diabetes | 85.7 million |
| 3 | Levothyroxine | underactive thyroid | 80.9 million |
| 4 | Lisinopril | high blood pressure, heart failure | 76.1 million |
| 5 | Amlodipine | high blood pressure, angina | 68.7 million |
| 6 | Metoprolol | high blood pressure, heart | 59.5 million |
| 7 | Albuterol (salbutamol) | asthma and COPD relief inhaler | 59.5 million |
| 8 | Losartan | high blood pressure, kidneys in diabetes | 56.2 million |
| 9 | Gabapentin | nerve pain, seizures | 46.0 million |
| 10 | Omeprazole | acidity, ulcers, reflux | 45.3 million |
Total prescriptions filled in 2023. Source: ClinCalc DrugStats, from the US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
India: medicines in the most brands
| # | Medicine | Type | Brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paracetamol | Pain reliever and fever reducer | 17,183 |
| 2 | Aceclofenac | Anti-inflammatory painkiller (NSAID) | 8,958 |
| 3 | Domperidone | Anti-nausea, gut motility | 8,831 |
| 4 | Cefixime | Antibiotic (cephalosporin) | 8,791 |
| 5 | Ofloxacin | Antibiotic (fluoroquinolone) | 8,509 |
| 6 | Clavulanic acid | Antibiotic booster | 8,343 |
| 7 | Amoxicillin | Antibiotic (penicillin) | 8,236 |
| 8 | Metformin | Diabetes medicine (biguanide) | 7,477 |
| 9 | Rabeprazole | Acid reducer (proton pump inhibitor) | 7,167 |
| 10 | Ceftriaxone | Antibiotic injection (cephalosporin) | 6,073 |
Number of brands on the market that contain the ingredient, alone or in a combination, in our India list (from the open A–Z medicines dataset of India, CC BY-SA 4.0, plus CIMS India 2025–26). Brand counts show how widely a medicine is made and sold, not exact sales. For sales: in 2025 the top-selling brands in India were Augmentin (amoxycillin + clavulanic acid, about ₹889 crore a year) and Glycomet GP (metformin + glimepiride, about ₹871 crore), according to Pharmarack data reported by BioSpectrum.
Common questions
What is the most prescribed medicine in the USA?
Atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering statin, with about 115 million prescriptions in 2023, followed by metformin and levothyroxine.
Which medicine has the most brands in India?
Paracetamol: about 17,183 brands on the market contain it, alone or combined with other ingredients.
Why are the two lists different?
The USA list counts prescriptions filled. The India list counts how many brands contain an ingredient, because full prescription or sales figures for India are not published freely. India also sells many fixed-dose combinations, which raises the count for ingredients such as paracetamol, cefixime and amoxycillin.
Last updated 5 November 2026. Written by Satya Babu.