Lipitor

My husband has high cholesterol. His doctor put him on Lipitor. After the dosage was increased, I noticed he wasn't as enthusiastic about our previously very active sex life. He said he wasn't feeling aroused and his usual morning erections weren't occurring. He asked his doctor if the Lipitor might be responsible, and the doc said to stop it for a month and see what happened. Our sex life is back to normal. He takes niacin, eats oatmeal and exercises, but is unwilling to have his cholesterol checked.

Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc. has recalled some of its generic version of Lipitor in the U.S. after finding small glass particles in some batches. The Indian company's recall of atorvastatin calcium, a generic form of Pfizer Inc.'s top-selling Lipitor, may temporarily disrupt supplies in the U.S. while the company conducts an investigation into these problems with the drug. Ranbaxy said the recall involves 10, 20 and 40-milligram dosage strength in 90 and 500-count bottles.

Lipitor is the most prescribed name-brand drug in America - nearly 3.5 million people take it every day to control their cholesterol. Since the statin entered the market in 1997, it's earned New York-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. $81 billion, making it the best-selling prescription drug of all time, according to IMS Health, a Danbury, Conn.-based healthcare information company. So when Lipitor's patent protection came to an end Nov. 30 and a generic alternative became available, an awful lot of patients had a decision to make: Should they stick with the drug they knew or switch to something less expensive?

Thanks for assisting your readers now negotiating the array of issues surrounding Lipitor (atorvastatin) and the expiration of its patent ["The New Deal With Lipitor," Jan. 16]. When a drug has generated $81 billion, the manufacturer will do all it can to preserve a portion of that income stream. They cite the drug's fine track record and play on the status of the brand. Patients should consider that neither track records nor status can lower cholesterol. It will take at least six months for this drug to be fully available with generic pricing.

Lipitor, the top-selling drug that lowers LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) will cease being Pfizer's cash cow as of Wednesday. The brand-name drug will still be available, but now patients can ask for the less-expensive generic version, called atorvastin. Lipitor generated more than $100 billion in revenue for Pfizer since it was approved in 1997. Patients need not fear that generic atorvastatin will be an inferior medication. According a 2010 study in the journal Clinical Therapeutics , patients receiving Lipitor in an eight-week study had a 48% reduction in LDL cholesterol compared to a 44% reduction among people taking the generic.

Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc. has recalled some of its generic version of Lipitor in the U.S. after finding small glass particles in some batches. The Indian company's recall of atorvastatin calcium, a generic form of Pfizer Inc.'s top-selling Lipitor, may temporarily disrupt supplies in the U.S. while the company conducts an investigation into these problems with the drug. Ranbaxy said the recall involves 10, 20 and 40-milligram dosage strength in 90 and 500-count bottles.

In response to the story about some Lipitor ads being pulled, Pfizer should remove Lipitor from the market altogether. ("Some Lipitor ads pulled," Feb. 26) My father took Lipitor and was nearly immobile. Within one week of taking the medication, he had muscle weakness, pain throughout his body and mood swings. The energetic father that I once knew could barely get out of bed. He stopped taking it and soon his symptoms cleared. He is not the only one who suffers from side effects: www.medications .com/se/lipitor.

For millions of Americans, prescription drugs are about to get a lot cheaper. Patents on some of the most popular medications will expire over the next few years, giving consumers access to less expensive generic versions — and costing the pharmaceutical industry an estimated $100 billion in lost sales through 2015. Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting medication that is the top-selling prescription drug of all time, lost its patent protection Wednesday. The drug's manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., already has slashed its price to as little as $4 a month for privately insured patients, the majority of Lipitor users.

Pfizer Inc. and India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. agreed to keep copies of the cholesterol pill Lipitor off the U.S. market an extra 20 months, protecting $12 billion in sales for Pfizer. Under the terms of a lawsuit settlement, Ranbaxy won't sell a generic version of Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug, until November 2011, New York-based Pfizer said Wednesday. Analysts had projected Ranbaxy would enter the market when the main patent expires in March 2010, though Pfizer sued to block it until 2016.

Pfizer Inc. said it would give away more than 70 of its most widely prescribed drugs, including Lipitor and Viagra, for as much as a year to people who have lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been taking the drug for three months or more. Pfizer stands to benefit too, by keeping its customers and getting a tax write-off that will cover much of the cost of the donations. The move also buys the world's largest drug maker some goodwill as Washington looks to overhaul the healthcare system.

Lipitor is the most prescribed name-brand drug in America - nearly 3.5 million people take it every day to control their cholesterol. Since the statin entered the market in 1997, it's earned New York-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. $81 billion, making it the best-selling prescription drug of all time, according to IMS Health, a Danbury, Conn.-based healthcare information company. So when Lipitor's patent protection came to an end Nov. 30 and a generic alternative became available, an awful lot of patients had a decision to make: Should they stick with the drug they knew or switch to something less expensive?

For millions of Americans, prescription drugs are about to get a lot cheaper. Patents on some of the most popular medications will expire over the next few years, giving consumers access to less expensive generic versions — and costing the pharmaceutical industry an estimated $100 billion in lost sales through 2015. Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting medication that is the top-selling prescription drug of all time, lost its patent protection Wednesday. The drug's manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., already has slashed its price to as little as $4 a month for privately insured patients, the majority of Lipitor users.

Lipitor, the top-selling drug that lowers LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) will cease being Pfizer's cash cow as of Wednesday. The brand-name drug will still be available, but now patients can ask for the less-expensive generic version, called atorvastin. Lipitor generated more than $100 billion in revenue for Pfizer since it was approved in 1997. Patients need not fear that generic atorvastatin will be an inferior medication. According a 2010 study in the journal Clinical Therapeutics , patients receiving Lipitor in an eight-week study had a 48% reduction in LDL cholesterol compared to a 44% reduction among people taking the generic.

My mother has Type 2 diabetes and has had a terrible time controlling her blood sugar, even taking metformin and Actos. I suspect that the risperidone and Lipitor she takes might be making this harder. Many drugs can make blood-sugar control more difficult. Diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide, certain beta blockers such as Coreg, the arthritis medicine Celebrex and the antipsychotics Risperdal (risperidone), Seroquel and Zyprexa can raise blood sugar. It also has been reported as a side effect of Lipitor.

My husband has high cholesterol. His doctor put him on Lipitor. After the dosage was increased, I noticed he wasn't as enthusiastic about our previously very active sex life. He said he wasn't feeling aroused and his usual morning erections weren't occurring. He asked his doctor if the Lipitor might be responsible, and the doc said to stop it for a month and see what happened. Our sex life is back to normal. He takes niacin, eats oatmeal and exercises, but is unwilling to have his cholesterol checked.

Pfizer Inc. said it would give away more than 70 of its most widely prescribed drugs, including Lipitor and Viagra, for as much as a year to people who have lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been taking the drug for three months or more. Pfizer stands to benefit too, by keeping its customers and getting a tax write-off that will cover much of the cost of the donations. The move also buys the world's largest drug maker some goodwill as Washington looks to overhaul the healthcare system.

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drug maker, said profit tripled as lower costs from job cuts and higher international sales offset declining U.S. demand for its cholesterol pill Lipitor and anti-smoking drug Chantix. Sales in the U.S. fell 15% after patients continued to switch from Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug, to generic copies of Merck & Co.'s cholesterol pill Zocor, New York-based Pfizer said. Doctors also shunned Chantix after U.S. regulators cautioned it might be linked to suicides.

My mother has Type 2 diabetes and has had a terrible time controlling her blood sugar, even taking metformin and Actos. I suspect that the risperidone and Lipitor she takes might be making this harder. Many drugs can make blood-sugar control more difficult. Diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide, certain beta blockers such as Coreg, the arthritis medicine Celebrex and the antipsychotics Risperdal (risperidone), Seroquel and Zyprexa can raise blood sugar. It also has been reported as a side effect of Lipitor.

Pfizer Inc., seeking to replace revenue it will lose to generic competition within three years, is in talks to buy Wyeth, according to people familiar with the discussions. A deal may be worth more than $60 billion, based on a 20% premium over Wyeth's share price Thursday. Pfizer, the world's biggest drug maker, has been negotiating with Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth for months, one person said.

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued a notice Tuesday allowing drug maker Pfizer Inc. to correct a technical defect in one of the patents involving Pfizer's cholesterol medicine Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug. The decision will result in reissuance of the drug's key patent and maintain that patent's June 2011 expiration date, crucial to Pfizer because Lipitor brings the company nearly $13 billion in annual sales.