New Lipitor generics: What you need to know

(CBS News) 

Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug, will lose its patent protection on Wednesday.

That's a big change for Pfizer, the company that made $11 billion on the the cholesterol-fighting drug last year - and for the 19 million people worldwide that take statin drugs.

But should people make the switch to the less expensive generic versions that are sure to hit the market or stay with the prescription brand Lipitor?

Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist, said on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," said she's been talking with her patients about making the switch to generic Lipitor - known as atorvastatin - for a month.

She explained, "These are really hard times economically for people, and they can't afford their medication. Lipitor has been a very powerful drug in terms of lowering cholesterol and lowering risk for heart disease. Now patients can have it at a cheaper price and also reduce their risk for heart disease."

The drug will have the same active ingredient, but will have filler ingredients different from the brand Lipitor, Goldberg said.

She explained, "It will have the same cholesterol lowering capacity. What will be different are the fillers. So instead of being oblong and white, the pill could be round or yellow, pink or green. ... It's just about the look of the drug, that's why it's important for people to carry a list of their medications. You can't go by the color and say to your doctor, 'I'm on the pink pill.'"

However, Goldberg advised patients still confer with their doctor before making the switch.

"I think it's very important for patients to ask their doctors about which statin is right for them," she said.

However, the drug isn't going to be the same price for everyone.

Goldberg advised, "(When you go to the generic) - just like you would buy a television set during the holiday season - do comparative pricing. Call your drug plan. Go to your local pharmacy. Go to Costco and Walmart and find out the prices and find the best one for you.

"For people who have prescription insurance, it could be as low as $10 a month, so that's impressive."

Goldberg added, "(That would be) a lot lower for somebody who doesn't have insurance and has to pay out-of-pocket where it's (now) costing $150 to $200 a month (for Lipitor)."

[crandreww]

Cholesterol is made in the very same place that other ESSENTIAL things are made, such as Testosterone (Every wonder why many people on statins need an Erectile Dysfunction drug?) Ubiquinol (CoQ10) (Every wonder why many people on statins suffer from Cardiomyopathy and Congestive Heart failure? The heart is the organ with the biggest demand for CoQ10 in order to produce the energy the heart muscle needs, we need ALL the CoQ10 we can produce! Ask your doctor if you don't believe me. As a Former RN, My job was to educate my patients, and TV Commercials and your doctors aren't doing it. Certainly not the FDA.

[foo8259]

If diet doesn't work you're on the wrong diet. Might want to research what causes your sky high Triglycerides? No statins for me, I would rather keep my muscles thank you. People with 'low total cholesterol' still can, and do have heart attacks. Do statins work equally for men and women to prevent heart attacks? That's another disputed and unanswered question.

[crandreww]

Muscle problems are just the tip of the iceberg! I was 34 when I became permanently and totally disabled by lipitor. Neuronal Apoptosis (Dead Brain Cells from serious CoQ10 Deficiency) My father lost his Best friend since childhood from ALS or Lou Gehrigs Disease..caused by Statins) Pfizer, Glaxo, Eli Lilly wont tell you about these very real effects...Google UCSD Statin Effects Study which I was in and was told that Lipitor was the causal contributor to the Apoptosis seen in my brain Biopsy as well as the Mitochondrial DNA mutations seen under Electron microscopy of my brain biopsy. God put Cholesterol in EVERY CELL in our body...for good reason.I was a Critical Care RN for 12 years prior to succumbing to Lipitor, Just because an all powerful Pharma company says their drug works...I have some eye opening info for you...email me if you have [e-mail]

[goffredo29]

Okay. Here I go again for all you guys out there. The so-called "rare but serious side effect" is not that rare, at least not in guys. But, you know that already if you're active and, say, workout in a gym. The side effect is called rhadomyilisis or exertional rhabdomyilisis or, in horses, "tying up." The muscle tissue under stress begins to break down and when it hits your kidneys that could be it. Because women are a prime market for this medication, those promoting its use want to play down this side effect so as to not frighten them off. In the process, guys end up taking the fall since they'll think it's something they're doing wrong and won't bring it up. And, doctors often don't even mention the side effect to them. Now, don't get me wrong, it can happen to women, too, like that woman on Biggest Loser. They just have to really exercise a lot for that to happen. Qui potest capere capiat.

[Drivelphobe001]

Generics either work the same or they don't. Screw the doctor. You don't need a physician to interpret facts. Do the "fillers affect efficacy? It's better to not take these at all. Twenty years ago a cholesterol level of 200 was okay. Now these drug companies want 160. Eating, with exercise, will do the job to keep you in balance. For those who claim diet and exercise don't do it, they are lying to themselves. They aren't properly eating or exercising. Statins are a dangerous drug. So is aspirin, which docs push on seniors. Go in for a prostate biopsy or a colonoscopy and the first thing they do is take you off these drugs for at least a week along with many commonly taken over-the-counter pain relievers. Toughen up people and let the body take care of itself. Doctors are brainwashed about pills, and often use them instead of common sense. Truly change your diet and add exercise for 6 months and watch what happens. We don't live forever anyway. Listen to mother nature.

[Dgunner]

Parents take time to drive thier kids to poison centers aka fast food rseturants and pay big bucks for the option of GETTING that time it takes of preparing good food for thier children.If they would take as much time to learn to read a food label and add 1% to all ingredients ? Thier children would not be obese at 10 and 12 years old.They themselves would not have to take statins unless they are genetically wired to have high LDLs in thier system.The more and more this becomes epidemic the less need for concern of population control because most of this generations children will be dropping dead before 30 and all the tax payers money in the world and free insurance for the children will not be able to save them. In short the death of your children in thier prime is on the head of the parents.

[robbyr1955]

Pseudo-science at best. Eating healthy is NOT a religion. Stop evangelizing- especially since genetics plays a part in a lot more that the level of LDLs.

[167irishboy]

Who is this doctor working for, Pfizer? She makes it sound like the medication is different. The FDA doesn't allow generic companies to sell atorvastatin when it's really fish oil. It's the same medicine that lipitor is.

[jechaucer]

Each body metabolizes fat in the bloodstream in a different way. Sometimes diet and exercise is not enough. Cholesterol lowering drugs are meant as a supplement to diet and exercise. The problem is that people are relying on the drug only. Their theory is that they can eat whatever they want and just "pop a pill" to make things better. When this is the case, larger doses of the medication is necessary. While liver damage is possible in some, it does not occur in everyone. There are other factors that are involved. That is why every three months the person on cholesterol lowering drugs needs to have a blood test for liver function. If you are on the med once a day and a small dose, you will be fine. It is those on large doses that could potentially have a problem. Taking medications, any kind, is sometimes a trade off for one illness over another. Often we have to make that sacrifice. Steve Jobs initially refused treatment and chose alternative therapies. It did not work. So don't rush to judgment on Lipitor or other meds before you learn all the facts.

[esq777]

"what you need to know" is that you're a lot better of exercising and eating right than putting poisonous drugs into your body.

[jechaucer]

Diet and exercise does not work for everyone in keeping cholesterol levels low. Other factors such as heredity and body chemistry also affect a persons cholesterol. Sometimes it is necessary to use medications. The problem is that people think, "Oh, I'll eat what I want and won't exercise, and just take a pill". It doesn't work that way. The pills are to be used as a supplement to exercise and eating right.

[cattiej]

My husbands Lipitor is made in Ireland..Where will the new ones be made, probably in India where 90% of our Rx medications are made. We need to make medications in America. When will some medication that is made in India cause the death of many people? Only time will tell.

[baileyccc]

If you take this synthetic poison "liver destroyer" then you have been scam, the problem is you don't know how to eat.