As Lipitor Patent Expired, Pfizer Moves to Block Generic Alternate Drugs

| December 1, 2011

Senator Max Baucus

Senator Max Baucus

The patent for Lipitor, the most successful commercial drug in history, has finally come to pass. Pfizer, which manufactures Lipitor, has been seeing sales of its lucrative drug in the billions annually, topping $10 billion in 2010 alone. But now that its patent on Lipitor has expired, Pfizer is coming under increased scrutiny not for the prescription drug itself, but what Pfizer has been doing to help ensure that their cash flow from Lipitor continues unabated.

At the heart of the matter is what Pfizer has been doing to preserve its market share, particularly during the early phases of the patent’s expiration, while generic substitute drugs are still limited and relatively unknown, and the prices for those generic alternate drugs are still high. Pfizer has been offering discounts to institutions that will in essence reject generic prescriptions, maintain the Lipitor preference, and in the process help ensure Lipitor’s place in the cholesterol drug market.

In a letter, senators Baucus, Grassley and Kohl asked Pfizer and five other health companies to divulge their agreements to stifle sales of generic versions of Lipitor in favor of the name brand. The senators expressed concerned about long term ramifications of the arrangement on health care costs. “We need to take a close look to ensure we’re protecting both taxpayer dollars and access to the medicine patients need,” explained Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee. The letters were sent to Pfizer, UnitedHealthcare, Coventry Health Care, Express Scripts, Medco Health Solutions and Catalyst Rx.

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