Lipitor: How Far Should Pfizer Push The Pill? |
ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection Please note: This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source. |
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Background Note
By 1899, Pfizer had become a leader in the American chemicals business with a product portfolio comprising citric acid, camphor, cream of tartar, borax, and iodine. It had also begun to export to a number of countries. Lipitor -The Super-Blockbuster
With this discovery, the search for potential drugs that inhibited the HMG CoA reductase and stopped cholesterol production in the body began. Such drugs were called 'HMG CoA reductase inhibitors' or 'statins'.
In the 1960s, the first statin, Pravastatin was discovered by Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Sankyo) of Japan. Pravastatin was later launched in the US, under the brand name Pravachol, by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)...
Illegal marketing?In March 2006, the Fund of Teamsters Local Union 863 filed a class-action suit against Pfizer in the US District Court in New Jersey accusing Pfizer of illegally marketing Lipitor. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs claimed that Pfizer encouraged the use of Lipitor for patients with high blood cholesterol but otherwise at low heart attack risk and was thus 'unjustly enriched'. According to federal guidelines, in such cases, lifestyle modifications like diet and regular exercise were enough to reduce the risk of a heart attack. This prompted a federal investigation into the marketing of Lipitor by the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York. The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer was under increasing pressure because of off-label sales of Lipitor... |
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