Pfizer's Lipitor gets five new indications approved by FDA

The world's largest drugmaker by sales, global giant Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for five new indications, including the reduction of the risk of non-fatal heart attacks. Previously, the drug was authorized for reducing cardiovascular events in patients without heart disease.

In addition to reducing the risk of non-fatal heart attacks, the FDA approval for Lipitor tablets covers reducing the risk of fatal and non-fatal strokes, certain types of heart surgery, hospitalization for heart failure and chest pain in patients with heart disease.

John LaRosa, professor of medicine at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, USA, is the lead investigator on the Treating New Targets trial, which supported the findings of the Incremental Decrease in Endpoints through Aggressive Lipid Lowering (IDEAL) study. Prof LaRosa said: "the significant reduction in cardiovascular events seen in the TNT trial can now be applied to everyday practice and benefit people with heart disease in the USA."