Lipitor to face cheap generics for market share

The United States’ leading anti-cholesterol drug, Lipitor, is now being price pressured by No. 2 Zocor, which became available in generic form in June.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a part of Consumers Union, estimates 20 million Americans take statins and about 60 percent of people who take brand-name statin drugs — Lipitor, Zocor, Vytorin and Crestor — can safely use one of three generics, USA Today reported.

Switching to a generic drug can substantially reduce employer health benefit costs. For example, the General Motors Corp. spends $200 million annually on statins for the more than 1 million people it insures. If all of GM’s statin users switched to a generic, GM’s costs will decrease to $82 million a year, the newspaper said.

New York-based Pfizer Inc., Lipitor’s manufacturer, claims studies show Lipitor is better at lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke, USA Today reported, noting Consumers Union suggests Lipitor for high-risk people.

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