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The most-prescribed medicines in England

Top 100 by items · April 2025 – March 2026 · NHS Prescription Cost Analysis
Data updated March 2026

The 100 most-dispensed medicines in England over the 12 months to March 2026, ranked by prescription items. Atorvastatin led with 78,042,871 items; the top 100 together account for 986,280,830 items.

Top 100 medicines

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The 100 most-prescribed medicines in England, April 2025 – March 2026
# Medicine Items (12 months) Net ingredient cost
1 Atorvastatin 78,042,871 £73,573,638
2 Amlodipine 41,208,448 £35,637,480
3 Lansoprazole 37,868,775 £43,662,937
4 Ramipril 36,339,463 £39,815,081
5 Omeprazole 35,562,793 £98,399,903
6 Levothyroxine sodium 34,992,603 £43,485,898
7 Bisoprolol fumarate 31,266,076 £25,388,739
8 Colecalciferol 29,221,677 £120,852,224
9 Metformin hydrochloride 27,395,015 £73,259,310
10 Sertraline hydrochloride 25,770,008 £47,439,400
11 Aspirin 20,265,374 £26,607,149
12 Amitriptyline hydrochloride 16,560,644 £18,982,787
13 Salbutamol 16,501,442 £50,901,724
14 Paracetamol 15,763,745 £77,718,125
15 Co-codamol (Codeine phosphate/paracetamol) 14,910,786 £69,929,606
16 Mirtazapine 13,786,670 £14,194,640
17 Losartan potassium 13,655,162 £13,960,622
18 Influenza 13,459,777 £228,626,642
19 Citalopram hydrobromide 12,868,995 £11,713,070
20 Clopidogrel 12,225,940 £12,406,622
21 Dapagliflozin 11,570,596 £261,018,352
22 Furosemide 11,312,344 £9,148,391
23 Apixaban 11,005,705 £20,417,799
24 Emollients 10,874,473 £66,059,969
25 Other Appliances 10,792,282 £62,077,018
26 Beclometasone dipropionate 10,627,709 £249,801,844
27 Simvastatin 10,273,872 £10,643,449
28 Tamsulosin hydrochloride 10,086,392 £13,339,680
29 Pregabalin 10,058,446 £21,129,658
30 Folic acid 9,555,632 £8,853,282
31 Eye Products 9,488,845 £73,921,170
32 Candesartan cilexetil 8,952,139 £16,388,969
33 Propranolol hydrochloride 8,341,100 £26,900,999
34 Amoxicillin 8,312,633 £11,332,940
35 Doxazosin mesilate 7,838,189 £24,623,488
36 Macrogol 3350 7,771,001 £76,865,352
37 Fluoxetine hydrochloride 7,603,442 £15,505,960
38 Naproxen 7,541,183 £22,559,938
39 Lisinopril 7,497,903 £8,735,458
40 Allopurinol 7,494,398 £7,738,775
41 Rosuvastatin calcium 7,397,842 £13,758,485
42 Gabapentin 7,359,436 £22,628,671
43 Fexofenadine hydrochloride 7,058,089 £25,685,353
44 Venlafaxine 6,430,122 £55,163,262
45 Estradiol 6,424,379 £106,707,784
46 Ezetimibe 6,361,839 £11,317,163
47 Indapamide 6,188,447 £24,421,069
48 Prednisolone 6,119,972 £15,786,362
49 Gliclazide 5,853,611 £12,467,084
50 Codeine phosphate 5,659,640 £15,440,640
51 Ferrous fumarate 5,467,268 £11,288,819
52 Glucose blood testing reagents 5,187,122 £70,535,423
53 Duloxetine hydrochloride 5,152,068 £16,826,188
54 Alendronic acid 5,047,615 £8,635,790
55 Tramadol hydrochloride 5,034,175 £17,437,140
56 Morphine sulfate 5,010,523 £29,820,765
57 Montelukast 4,907,834 £5,624,222
58 Bendroflumethiazide 4,778,257 £3,361,617
59 Senna 4,722,999 £5,870,856
60 Empagliflozin 4,715,991 £186,934,242
61 Lercanidipine hydrochloride 4,711,364 £13,453,925
62 Budesonide 4,702,193 £160,618,627
63 Quetiapine 4,691,495 £52,317,827
64 Rivaroxaban 4,677,223 £10,526,820
65 Isosorbide mononitrate 4,566,095 £21,891,157
66 Other emollient preparations 4,557,425 £36,461,343
67 Finasteride 4,519,651 £4,809,603
68 Famotidine 4,519,241 £42,116,912
69 Detection Sensor Interstitial Fluid/Gluc 4,469,629 £364,247,392
70 Lamotrigine 4,445,117 £33,642,350
71 Nitrofurantoin 4,429,854 £30,786,138
72 Alginic acid compound preparations 4,392,531 £37,800,522
73 Spironolactone 4,181,506 £15,208,270
74 Edoxaban 4,118,877 £205,252,714
75 Zopiclone 4,088,705 £2,352,364
76 Felodipine 4,084,078 £21,851,120
77 Carbocisteine 4,068,258 £20,343,828
78 Skin Fillers And Protectives 4,025,266 £45,360,888
79 Ferrous sulfate 4,004,846 £6,713,888
80 Flucloxacillin sodium 3,990,751 £9,872,092
81 Doxycycline hyclate 3,966,758 £4,813,330
82 Thiamine hydrochloride 3,919,816 £5,169,644
83 Ibuprofen 3,893,683 £16,737,034
84 Diazepam 3,809,615 £5,720,821
85 Atenolol 3,713,417 £2,781,384
86 BeclometDiprop/Formoterol/Glycopyrronium (Corticosteroids) 3,711,516 £183,679,936
87 Cetirizine hydrochloride 3,571,835 £10,768,328
88 Solifenacin 3,523,944 £5,326,000
89 Wound Management & Other Dressings 3,486,050 £135,102,042
90 Latanoprost 3,465,909 £23,342,687
91 Perindopril erbumine 3,424,440 £6,951,036
92 Sildenafil (Erectile Dysfunction) 3,391,797 £4,518,226
93 Hydrocortisone 3,346,089 £23,004,058
94 Levetiracetam 3,345,759 £32,162,056
95 Hydroxocobalamin 3,332,230 £9,474,606
96 Progesterone 3,313,302 £42,976,721
97 Mirabegron 3,118,578 £84,756,013
98 Tirzepatide 3,064,223 £574,302,390
99 Mometasone furoate 3,049,865 £19,141,670
100 Sitagliptin 3,046,122 £13,513,057