DREAMSTIME, KATERYNA PORTOKHOVA
Pfizer’s monopoly over the blockbuster cholesterol-reducing molecule atorvastatin, trade name Lipitor, ends today (November 30) with the expiration of the patent that has brought the company over $100 billion since the drug was introduced in 1997. While the introduction of generic alternatives into the market may pose a relief for consumer pockets, the expiration of patents for Lipitor and other drugs in the next three years may result in a loss of about $95 billion for big drug companies, Nature reported.
Atorvastatin was first synthesized in 1985 by Bruce D. Roth, a chemist working at Parke-Davis Warner-Lambert Company (now Pfizer). Modeled after naturally occurring compounds known as statins, atorvastatin reduces blood cholesterol by inhibiting a key liver enzyme involved in the production of cholesterol. When ...
