"Lipitor is $150 plus at big drug store chain across the US. $12 in Costco. Go figure."

Lipitor is now off patent which is why it's now so cheap - what's to figure out? Same happens with all drugs when they go off patent

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and this is the whole point of patents - they are a state-sponsored bribe to encourage the development of disclosure of useful inventions which will benefit us all. Lipitor first being developed and now being cheaply available to everyone is a success story for patent system.

"Lipitor is $150 plus at big drug store chain across the US. $12 in Costco. Go figure."

Lipitor is now off patent which is why it's now so cheap - what's to figure out? Same happens with all drugs when they go off patent

you're genuinely trying to claim that Lipitor was launched based on a clinical trial on 100 patients?

Link to data? Read Ben Goldacre. All there.
Jupiter trial is interesting too.
Lipitor is $150 plus at big drug store chain across the US. $12 in Costco. Go figure.

Your command of science impresses me.

can you give us a link to this clinical trial data.......or are you just making it up?

Pfizer claims that taking Lipitor reduces your chance of having a heart attack by 30%. Here's the full truth:

In clinical studies, 100 people taking lipitor had 2 heart attacks while 100 people taking a placebo has 3 heart attacks. So Pfizer can claim that Lipitor reduces heart attacks by 30 percent but the real truth is that only 1 person in 100 taking Lipitor will avoid a heart attack because thay were on the drug.

It's a good job for our industry that most Americans are suckers and believe whatever big corporations tell them.......

Quote "I think you all know the blockbuster mentality in the executive suites of the pharma industry was a terrible thing. Vast sums of money were wasted and abysmal executive performers got rich. BODs did nothing since the tidal wave of money coming in was enough to make all the important people very rich. It was an era of hubris and greed that hurt a lot of good people in the industry."

Total Lipitor sales have been close to 100 billion dollars and of that sum, Pfizer leadership completed wasted 50 billion. As you have said, it was abysmal executive performance on an epic scale. Sadly that's so typical of the pharma industry........

For a moment I thought I'd stumbled onto the Rumor Mill, silly me. Now just a site for ex-PFE trolls to try to stir up some excitement in their vacuous lives with stupid posts.

Read Ben Goldacre's 'Big Pharma'.
It will tell you all you need to know about the drugs trade. Which spends twice as much on marketing than on R&D. And in finding new diseases for which to invent cures.
Most drugs are poison and most doctors haven't a real clue about what they prescribe. Including statins. They just don't have the time to do the real background reading. And not just the puff the drugs rep gives them.

You simply copied an individual else’s story Danas http://planking.eu/es/plank/4ecd94a11d70d/rate/8

At $10 billion a year the last 10+ years the income was more than adequate. The problem was too much money spent on a bloated middle management contributing little to the real activities of drug discovery. Upper management needs to concentrate on finding discovery leads from outside, close the innovation stifling big research sites, and increase the dividend.

While I agree it is worth celebrating when patents expire, I also think it worthy to point out the exorbitant amount pharma and DX companies have to invest to bring a package through the FDA...the ultimate cost lies with the consumers but the FDA is driving the high cost to us.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 (attributed)

There is an arguement over whether or not the man said that but the mentality was there. I've heard similar statements about small molecules.

I saw an ad last night for a compound that grows eyelashes. I do miss the ad for toenail fungus. Always came on at dinner time. We'll make your toenails and eyes pretty but you may die from it.

We're a drug-happy, "gotta be pain-free" culture. That doesn't change the fact that there are still diseases out there that if someone can put a dent in them, the compound will become a block-buster.

"Push-ups and veggies are good, but people still need medicines" Amen.

I think you all know the blockbuster mentality in the executive suites of the pharma industry was a terrible thing. Vast sums of money were wasted and abysmal executive performers got rich. BODs did nothing since the tidal wave of money coming in was enough to make all the important people very rich. It was an era of hubris and greed that hurt a lot of good people in the industry.

"There are already very good solutions to prevent diabetes, obesity and some cancers already out there................a healthy diet and exercise."

That's a good albeit naive view. Push-ups and veggies are good, but people still need medicines. Ewell Gibbons ate pine cones and tree bark, but death got him, as well as Jack LaLaine. For every one of them there are others that are not that committed. The drug industry does have all the answers when it comes to developing pharmaceuticals. Especially now that we are dangerously low on rhino horn, bear paw, and tiger gall bladders.

"Don't let the drug industry fool you that they have ALL the answers."

Don't believe that they we (the drug industry) have all the answers? Don't worry, we have a pill for that too...

"Industry needs to develop new medications for diseases for which there is not good treatments, diabetes, obesity, and cancer."

There are already very good solutions to prevent diabetes, obesity and some cancers already out there................a healthy diet and exercise.
Don't let the drug industry fool you that they have ALL the answers.

I used to be on Lipitor until our insurance wouldn't pay for it. I was switched to simvastatin which has worked fine. Now that the product has gone generic sales ought to go up sharply. So it is good news for patients. Its really not about the industry, the pioneer company has made a sizable profit off of this product. Now it is time for the people who need the product to get the advantages of it's development. We should all be happier, and look forward to the other blockbusters that are going to become more affordable. Industry needs to develop new medications for diseases for which there is not good treatments, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Its time for new ground to be plowed or the companies that can't meet the development targets need to go under, as they are wasting scarce resources. Its a dog-eat-dog world and we are all wearing Milk Bone underwear.