eCardioVascular Beat

Lipitor and Plavix generics coming soon

Douglas Dawley, M.D.

Cardiologist, Providence Portland Medical Center

The availability of generic drugs saves not only patients but the entire health care system substantial amounts of money.

From 2006 to 2010, the average monthly retail cost for a generic drug rose only 29 cents – from $20.60 to only $20.89. Over the same period, however, the cost of branded drugs doubled, from $91 a month to $187.

By the end of this year, patents will have expired for the two top-selling drugs in the world: Lipitor, with 2010 sales of $10.7 billion, and Plavix, with sales of $9.4 billion. Indian generic maker Ranbaxy has acquired the formula for Lipitor from Pfizer, and will begin making generic atorvastatin on Nov. 30, 2011.

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows the first generic manufacturer of a drug six months exclusivity, other generic manufacturers will not be allowed to compete in the marketplace until May 2012.

Steve Stoner, regional director of Providence Clinical Pharmacy Services, says the Ranbaxy generic product will save only about 10 percent of the annual $800,000 spent on Lipitor. However, when other generic makers of atorvastatin enter the market, the price could drop dramatically – “by as much as 90 percent,” Stoner says.

Still, patent law remains complex. Some of Pfizer’s additional patents on Lipitor don’t expire until 2015 and 2017, which could possibly make it more difficult for other generics to enter the market.

In any case, the addition of generic atorvastatin will have a big impact on the statin market. Even at 10 percent, the initial savings comes to $1 billion.

Other articles by Douglas Dawley, M.D.

• A better predictor of thromboembolism risk in a-fib patients
• Dabigatran offers more benefits, fewer complications than warfarin
• Reducing radiation exposure from cardiac testing
• Case study: When genes predict CAD