Keep prescribing Lipitor – the generics are nearly here, says Pfizer
pharmafile | January 5, 2012 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Lipitor, NHS, Pfizer, statin prescribing
Pfizer has launched a campaign to persuade UK doctors to keep prescribing Lipitor ahead of its patent expiry in May.
England’s GPs spent £305 million on the drug last year, making it one of the largest drug costs for the NHS. Lipitor’s high cost compared to cheap generic simvastatin makes it a continued target for NHS cost-cutting.
Primary care trusts have been exerting pressure on GPs to switch as many patients as possible from Lipitor to the much cheaper generic simvastatin, backed up by NICE guidelines which favour the lowest priced statins.
This pressure has seen primary care spending on Lipitor decline in recent years, falling from £360 million in 2004 to £305 million in 2010.
But Pfizer is arguing that because cheaper Lipitor generics are just round the corner, it no longer makes sense for GPs to switch patients to other statins. The company says keeping them on Lipitor makes clinical and financial sense.
If the company can persuade GPs, it will make a major difference to its revenues – five months’ of sales is worth around £125 million, or £820,000 a day to Pfizer.
Video message
Pfizer has made the unusual move of creating an online video message to persuade doctors to keep prescribing Lipitor before its patent expiry on 7 May.
Occupying a prominent advertising banner space on the BMJ website, the ‘Lipitor in focus’ video argues that keeping patients on Lipitor will be good for patients and for NHS budgets.
Pfizer continues to argue that Lipitor is the best option for preventing cardiovascular events in high risk patients, and in patients with hypercholesterolaemia.
The three-minute video says that Lipitor has the best outcomes for patients, and will soon become much cheaper, meaning there is little reason to switch.
The video’s presenter says: “ Given that generic versions of Lipitor will soon be available, does it make sense to continue to switch from Lipitor, to a lower cost generic statin – why would you not choose Lipitor?”
Unfortunately for Pfizer, there is a clear answer to this question: QIPP – the health service’s cost reduction and efficiency drive which is aiming to save £20 billion over five years.
Among the many QIPP targets is one specifically for statin use, which stipulates that doctors must aim for 80% use of simvastatin. While there is some flexibility around the target, most regions are several percentage points short of the goal, which means pressure will continue to be applied by cost-conscious NHS managers.
Ben Adams
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