• by Aaron Baar , April 15, 2008

Judging from their Internet searches of prescription drugs, American consumers are depressed and experiencing some form of sexual dysfunction. According to new research from comScore Pharmaceutical Solutions, five of the most frequently searched prescription drugs for the month of February were depression treatments, while two treated erectile dysfunction.

Lauren Kreiberg, senior manager of marketing solutions for comScore, says the anonymity of an Internet search gives consumers a level of freedom to seek out information about highly personal problems. She adds that the anonymity translates to the most commonly searched health conditions, which were topped by pregnancy and cancer, but also included depression, herpes, HIV and HPV.

Of the top 15 searched brand names, Pfizer's smoking cessation drug Chantix topped the list with more than 500,000 search queries during the month. ADHD treatment Adderall was second with 469,000 searches, while Viagra was third with 348,000 searches. Among depression treatments, Lexapro, Effexor, Cymbalta, Paxil and Prozac were among the top 15 searched prescription drugs.

"One thing that's surprising is that Prozac is on the list. It's been generic for some time," Kreiberg tells Marketing Daily. "I think it's interesting that something that hasn't been advertised for a number of years is on the list."

Other prescription drugs making the top 15 were Ambien (No. 4), Lyrica (No. 8), bipolar medication Seroquel (No. 9), cholesterol medications Lipitor (No. 10) and Crestor (No. 13) and asthma medication Singular (No. 15). That medications such as Lexapro, Effexor, Paxil and Seroquel made the list was not particularly surprising, says Kreiberg. "Those are categories that historically have a lot of switching, which may account for more research," she says.

It's also not coincidental that the prescription drugs appearing on the list are also the subjects of high-profile marketing campaigns, Kreiberg says. Chantix, for instance, received a healthy advertising push in December and January targeting the key New Years Resolution market, which was likely a reason for its topping the list in February searches. "They generated a lot of awareness through that campaign," Kreiberg says. "The advertising drives a lot of this. When a drug is advertised, then more searching is done online."