Economics of Statins [Trials]

Posted on January 18, 2008 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Join Our Mailing List

The Competition Heats-Up

[By Patrick C. Cox; Jr.]

The chances are pretty good that you are taking a proven compound – called a statin – on a daily basis along with millions of other patients. The drugs are relatively safe, easy to take, widely available, and covered on most healthcare insurance plans … And, they do work. 

While not a license to do or eat whatever we want; a smart lifestyle and diet along with a statin will result in reduced cholesterol levels in most patients.

But, there’s lots of pharmaceutical manufacturer competition and the results will be dramatic. Billions of dollars will be spent on statins alone this year. And, the stakes are high.

The Vytorin™ Enhance Trial

With the recently released but disappointing results of the Enhance Trial where Vytorin™ did not reduce arterial plaque, the race is heating up between manufacturers. The contest is for a drug company to be able to lay claim to the statin efficacy “crown” – lower cholesterol and favorable results on arterial plaque.

But of course, you have to prove it first and then have the medical community buy-in.

Saturn Trial Launching Soon [Crestor™ versus Lipitor™]

Within the last few days AstraZeneca has announced plans for launch of the Saturn Trial pitting its A/Z’s Crestor™ 40 mg. – against Pfizer’s Lipitor™ 80mg. The goal is to prove product superiority in the ability to decrease – or regress – atherosclerosis over a two-year period.

Future Trials?

Of course, millions of dollars are on the table in both research costs and potential long-term revenues. And, we’re likely to see similar comparative trials on the horizon as companies struggle to increase their statin market share.

Assessment

And so, are statins worth this kind of attention and associated research dollars? Health economists call this type of ciphering a “cost-volume-profit-analysis [CVPA].”

Or, should big-pharma drug companies be putting their research dollars toward the discovery of more novel compounds?

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

 

Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: | 2 Comments »