Lipitor to be available in generic form

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The best selling drug in the country, Lipitor, is now available in generic form. That means it will become less expensive, and it also means more people have a more powerful weapon to fight cholesterol.

So do you take a statin drug to lower your cholesterol? Should you?

Dr. John Corbelli of the Buffalo Cardiology and Pulmonary Association said, "Statin drugs are extremely important because they lower your risk of vascular disease; heart attacks, stroke, amputations. The most effective drug that we have is a statin drug."

Newer statins are better than older ones.

"They're all very effective in terms of lowering your cholesterol, but there's gradations in terms of the potency between the different statins. The two strongest statins are Lipitor and Crestor, and they're very close in terms of potency," explained Dr. Corbelli.

But now, one of them, Lipitor, is available in generic form that will have a great impact.

Dr. Corbelli told News 4, "It is a big deal, because Lipitor, which is now going to be generic, which makes it inexpensive, will make it much more accessible to people because now you've got a very potent statin at a much more affordable price."

Three other statins, Mevacor, Pravacol and Zocor, were already available as generics. Now many people who take them may switch to Lipitor. The other highly potent statin, Crestor, will still only be available in brand name form.

A recent study comparing Lipitor and Crestor showed that both of them were capable of shrinking the plaques that make arteries narrow. Dr. Corbelli participated in that study. Crestor was a bit better.

"Lower bad cholesterol, higher good cholesterol, a little better effect on the arteries, but Lipitor was shown to be very close," said Dr. Corbelli.

But generic Lipitor might be the winner.

Dr. Corbelli explained, "Often times prescribing, the first thing you talk about is what kind of coverage you have and what can you afford realistically, in order to continue taking the medication."

Continuing to take any statin is the key to it's effectiveness. We know that about half the people who are prescribed a statin stop taking it after about six months. If the availability of a more potent statin at a lower price influences people to keep taking it, that will be a tremendous benefit.