Pfizer has mounted an aggressive campaign for its cholesterol-reducing drug Lipitor that includes advertisements, lobbying efforts and a paid speaking tour by a former secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services. The Lipitor battle has become a test of the pharmaceutical industry's ability to defend name brands, even as insurers, patients and doctors seek to whittle the nation's $270
billion annual prescription drug bill by using generic alternatives whenever possible.
While Lipitor itself is not available as a generic, a very similar drug made by Merck--Zocor--lost its patent
protection last year. The generic version of Zocor, simvastatin, is now much cheaper than Lipitor, leading insurers to press doctors and patients to switch.
Lipitor's share of the
cholesterol-lowering drug market in this country has ebbed to 30%, down from 40% 18 months ago. Pfizer recently vowed to step up its efforts to protect Lipitor. So far this year, Pfizer has been
spending more than 50% more on advertising the drug than it did in 2006, when its Lipitor ad spending for the year totaled $142.7 million.
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