Medications

Pfizer's blockbuster drug Lipitor goes generic

Pfizer's patent on the best-selling drug of all-time, the cholesterol-lowering medication Lipitor, expired on Wednesday, opening the path to generic competitors for America's most popular medication.

Cardiology

Statin alternative looks promising in early trials

(HealthDay) -- Administration of REGN727, a monoclonal antibody to proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9), significantly reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, according to the results of three ...

Medications

US approves India's Ranbaxy to make generic Lipitor

Indian pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy won US regulatory approval to make the first generic version of cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor, a Pfizer product whose patent expired Wednesday.

Medications

With new generic rivals, Lipitor's sales halved

Sales of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor plunged by half barely a week after the world's top-selling drug got its first U.S. generic competition, new data show.

Medications

Study finds statin costs 400 percent higher in US compared to UK

In the United States, the cost paid for statins (drugs to lower cholesterol) in people under the age of 65 who have private insurance is approximately 400 percent higher than comparable costs paid by the government in the ...

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Atorvastatin

Atorvastatin (INN) ( /əˌtɔrvəˈstætən/), sold by Pfizer under the trade name Lipitor, is a member of the drug class known as statins, used for lowering blood cholesterol. It also stabilizes plaque and prevents strokes through anti-inflammatory and other mechanisms. Like all statins, atorvastatin works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in liver tissue that plays a key role in production of cholesterol in the body.

Atorvastatin was first synthesized in 1985 by Bruce Roth while working at Parke-Davis Warner-Lambert Company (now Pfizer). With 2008 sales of US$12.4 billion, Lipitor was the top-selling branded pharmaceutical in the world. U.S. patent protection was scheduled to expire in June 2011. However, Pfizer made an agreement with Ranbaxy Laboratories to delay the generic launch in the U.S. until November 30, 2011.

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