Pfizer to Leverage Lipitor Formulary to Drive Sales

After revising its sales expectations downward for cholesterol treatment Lipitor, Pfizer plans to leverage the product’s formulary position to drive sales volumes and increase its share of new prescriptions, Ian Read, president of Pfizer worldwide pharmaceutical operations, said during the second quarter earnings call yesterday.

Revenues for Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) are now expected to be flat or to decline 5 percent in 2007, compared with Pfizer’s previous April forecast of “modest growth to a modest decline,” the company said. The forecast assumes an increased level of contracting rebates for the product.

U.S. sales of the statin dropped 25 percent to $1.38 billion compared with the same period last year. Lipitor had a 10 percent decline in prescriptions dispensed.

Read attributed the disappointing results to a larger than expected generic switching rate following the entry of multiple generic competitors when Ranbaxy Laboratories and Teva Pharmaceutical lost exclusivity for generic Zocor (simvastatin) last year.

Patients switching from Lipitor to generics peaked at a rate of 24,000 per week, compared with the previous switch rate of 13,000 per week before multiple simvastatin generics became available, Read said.