Pfizer's blockbuster drug Lipitor goes generic
(AFP) – 54 minutes ago
NEW YORK — 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.
Lipitor came on the market in 1997, and has raked in some $100 billion for Pfizer even in a crowded market that includes various other cholesterol-lowering statins, many of which have already gone generic.
In the United States, anti-cholesterol drugs account for 255 million prescriptions a year, and about nine million people are taking Lipitor.
US-based Watson Pharmaceuticals immediately announced its launch of a generic version of Lipitor, atorvastatin calcium, under an exclusive supply and distribution agreement with Pfizer, whereby Pfizer manufactures the drug and Watson sells it, sharing net sales with Pfizer until 2016.
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