Top Prescribed Drugs in 2024
In 2024, an influx of new medications took center stage at doctors’ offices and pharmacies. Some options were consistently prescribed throughout the year, from cancer treatment drugs to cardiovascular medications. Learn all about the top drugs in 2024 and why they were so popular.
Keytruda
Keytruda took the number one spot for most prescribed medication last year. This drug is an immunotherapy that prompts your own body’s immune system to fight cancer cells.
Cancer cells use a certain protein (PD-1) to make themselves invisible to the immune system. Keytruda blocks the protein, allowing your white cells to do what they do to all other invaders. It’s an intravenous medication that is useful for the treatment of many cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, kidney cancer, and others.
Ozempic
Ozempic was the punchline of many jokes in 2024 for how celebrities embraced one of its effects, but it is an effective drug for treating type 2 diabetes. It can help lower blood sugar levels and can even decrease the risk of cardiovascular events and strokes in people who have heart disease.
Ozempic prompts your pancreas to create more insulin after a meal while also preventing your liver from releasing stored sugars. Additionally, it slows down the movement of food through your digestive system.
Eliquis
Eliquis is a prescription medication that treats blood clots in your legs. It’s an anticoagulant that can be an effective treatment to prevent stroke in people who have nonvalvular atrial fibrillation or those who have experienced deep vein thrombosis.
Eliquis has also been used to treat and prevent pulmonary embolisms, which are blood clots that block the flow of blood to your lungs. It’s a helpful drug for preventing blood clots in people who are prone to them and who have undergone knee or hip replacements, since these surgeries can increase the risk of clots.
Dupixent
Dupixent belongs to the biologic family of drugs. It can treat many conditions that cause inflammation, such as eczema in adults and children, and it can also help manage asthma in children who depend on oral steroids.
The drug works by blocking two main substances in the body: IL-13 and IL-4. These are cytokines that regulate your body’s inflammatory response.
Biktarvy
Biktarvy is a pill that people with HIV-1 take once a day to manage the condition. Its effectiveness comes from its three antiretrovirals, including emtricitabine, bictegravir, and tenofovir alafenamide. Your doctor will typically prescribe it alone. It’s not a cure for HIV, but it can improve your quality of life and increase your longevity.
Stelara
Stelara is a biologic prescription drug that can target specific proteins that trigger your inflammatory response. It works by blocking certain immune system signal messengers that can trigger inflammation in conditions like psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease.
For the most part, Stelara is administered via injection under the skin. For some conditions, it may need to be used intravenously.
Skyrizi
If you have plaque psoriasis or Crohn’s disease, your doctor may have recommended Skyrizi. As with Stelara, Skyrizi addresses inflammation by targeting a specific protein: IL-23. IL-23 impacts your immune system, triggering responses.
By attaching to that protein, Skyrizi blocks it and reduces inflammation. This can ease discomfort and many of the symptoms that Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis cause. The drug is administered subcutaneously (under the skin).
Eylea
Eylea is a prescription drug that can help treat a number of eye conditions, including diabetic macular edema, wet age-related macular degeneration, and retinopathy of prematurity. The medication functions by blocking the effects of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
This protein prompts the formation of abnormal blood vessels, which causes fluid leaking into the eye. Eylea blocks VEGF, diminishing some of the disease’s effects and protecting your vision. This medication is injected directly into the eye.
Get Affordable Access to Prescription Medications
Simplefill is a full-service prescription assistance company that researches, qualifies, and maintains patients’ enrollment in all sources of assistance available to them.
Apply today by calling 877-386-0206. A caring Simplefill representative will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your application and, if qualified, enroll you in the program.
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