Pfizer hatches mail order plan for Lipitor
pharmafile | November 23, 2011 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Lipitor, Pfizer, US, generics
Pfizer is preparing to launch a new mail order service offering cut-price Lipitor direct to patients in the US.
The firm plans to match the price of generic versions of the drug using a groundbreaking mail-order business model, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Lipitor goes off-patent at the end of November and the plan is Pfizer’s most radical move yet in the fight to retain revenue from its top selling brand.
Pfizer has done a deal with Michigan-based Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, which will post the drugs to patients who order them and invoice the patients’ medical insurance companies.
Those who have a Pfizer contract would pay the generic price for Lipitor (atorvastatin), with others paying a higher price, the report says.
There has been talk of the company seeking to offer an OTC version of Lipitor, but selling it through pharmacies by mail order is in many ways a bolder move.
Whatever happens, Pfizer is bracing itself for a significant loss of revenue for the drug, which launched in 1997, with generic manufacturers already circling ahead of the 30 November deadline for patent expiry.
Ranbaxy Laboratories is the generic company poised to launch its version of the drug onto the US market. It has 180 days of exclusivity for its generic version in the US under the terms of an agreement signed with Pfizer in 2008.
Teva has already launched generic Lipitor in the UK and Canada, although it reached a settlement with Pfizer last month that put a halt to sales in the UK until May next year.
Adam Hill
Related Content
Sharp invests $100m in US and EU manufacturing and packaging facilities
Sharp Services, a pharmaceutical packaging and sterile manufacturing specialist, has announced investments totalling $100m across …
Moderna doses first US patient in phase 1 trial of mRNA-4106 for solid tumours
The START Center for Cancer Research has dosed the first US participant in Moderna’s phase …
NICE recommends Pfizer’s new once-weekly treatment for haemophilia B on NHS
Walton Oaks, 21st May 2025 – Pfizer Ltd announced today that the National Institute for Health and Care …
