Is Pfizer's Lipitor Strategy Working?

Since November 30, the atorvastatin market has been split between Pfizer’s heavily-discounted brand-name Lipitor product, an authorized generic from Watson, and the first-to-file generic Ranbaxy. See Ranbaxy Makes Three: The Battle for Generic Lipitor Profits. Pfizer has been criticized for its unorthodox discounting strategy.

Surprisingly, Lipitor share is tracking below historical generic substitution patterns from the past few years, i.e., the brand-name version is losing share faster than a typical generic drug.

The chart below tells the story, which is about as unexpected as an overweight, butter-loving celebrity chef becoming the spokesperson for a manufacturer of diabetes medicine. Oh, wait...

Based on IMS data, Larry Marsh at Barclays Capital reported yesterday that atorvastatin, the generic form of Lipitor, controlled 67.4% of the Lipitor market for the week ending January 6, 2012. This is the fifth full reported week by IMS with atorvastatin on the market.

The chart below compares Lipitor to a broad sample of generic drugs from the past 5 years. To create it, I combined the following two sources:

• Page 21 from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics' The Use of Medicines in the United States report
• The IMS prescription data for Lipitor, as reported by Barclays Capital yesterday

It certainly looks like Pfizer's critics were a bit hasty in complaining about the Lipitor discount and rebate programs, especially given the likelihood that Pfizer's strategy reduced total healthcare spending faster than if they had done nothing. 

I'll check back in a few months and see where things stand. In the meantime, I'll be managing my weight and cholesterol levels by eating a burger, egg, bacon, and donut sandwich.