Lipitor (Atorvastatin) Know Your Drug

Courtesy of http://www.pharmacyforall.net

Atorvastatin, sold by Pfizer under the trade name Lipitor, is a member of the drug class known as statins, used for lowering blood cholesterol. It also stabilizes plaque and prevents strokes through anti-inflammatory and other mechanisms. Like all statins, atorvastatin works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in liver tissue that plays a key role in production of cholesterol in the body.

Atorvastatin was first synthesized in 1985 by Bruce Roth while working at Parke-Davis Warner-Lambert Company (now Pfizer). With 2008 sales of US$12.4 billion, Lipitor was the top-selling branded pharmaceutical in the world. US patent protection is scheduled to expire in June 2011. However, Pfizer made an agreement with Ranbaxy Laboratories to delay the generic launch in the US until November 2011

Atorvastatin calcium tablets are marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Lipitor, in tablets (10, 20, 40 or 80 mg) for oral administration. Tablets are white, elliptical, and film coated. Pfizer also packages the drug in combination with other drugs, such as is the case with its Caduet. Pfizer recommends that patients do not break tablets in half to take half doses even when told it is okay to do this by their doctors, as in most cases, doctors are not aware of the company's recommendation stated on its website.

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Science & Technology

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• atorvastatin
• calcium
• lipitor
• statin
• cholesterol
• stroke
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• heart
• disease