Next summer health plans and doctors are likely to start pointing patients in need of a statin away from Pfizer's Lipitor and toward a generic version of the far-less expensive Zocor, which is made by rival Merck. That is something Pfizer hopes to avoid. The drug company is pulling out all the stops to convince doctors and insurers that taking at risk patients off its cholesterol drug is a very bad idea. Will Pfizer be able to convince customers that its medicine is worth the extra expense? Observers say the fight is a key contest in the battle between generics and branded drugs.
- see this article from The New York Times