First Launch Of Parke-Davis' Lipitor

Parke-Davis, a division of Warner-Lambert, has launched itslipid-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) in its first market, the UK.

Lipitor is an HMG-CoA reductase inhiitor, or statin, and offers both medical and economic advantages over its available competitors, including Merck & Co's Zocor (simvastatin), says the company.

Lipitor is indicated for the reduction of elevated total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and triglycerides in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia, heterozygous familial cholesterolemia or combined hyperlipidemia. This is the broadest range of lipid disorder indications of any other statin currently on the market. Diseases that were previously untreated with statins are now in the therapeutic range, it says.