Cholesterol Treatment Market Heats Up as Patent Expiry Looms

Strategic Insights -

The world's largest drug market, worth $29bn (£16bn) in the year to April, is set to face intense competition as patent protection for Merck's blockbuster cholesterol drug, Zocor, is about to expire. The expiry on Friday will allow cheaper, generic versions of the drug to flood the market, posing a significant threat to Zocor's $4.4bn annual sales and Merck's dominance in the market. AstraZeneca and its US rivals, Merck and Schering-Plough, are engaged in a fierce battle to prove their medicines are more effective at lowering high cholesterol levels, which contribute to heart attacks and strokes.

Key Takeaways:

  • Merck's Zocor patent expires on Friday, allowing cheaper generic versions to enter the market, potentially cutting Zocor's $4.4bn annual sales.
  • Astra-Zeneca's Crestor medicine has been challenged by a new study showing Vytorin, a two-in-one pill combining ezetimibe and simvastatin, is more effective in reducing bad cholesterol levels.
  • A separate study published by Astra-Zeneca showed a combination of Crestor and ezetimibe lowered bad cholesterol levels by an unprecedented 70 per cent.
  • The $29bn (£16bn) cholesterol treatment market is the world's biggest-selling drug class, with sales in the 13 main markets driving demand for more effective treatments.
  • Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's leading cholesterol drug, controls more than half the $16bn US market and is under pressure to prove its efficacy before its own patent expiry.
  • Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe Astra-Zeneca's Crestor combination with ezetimibe could become the new "gold standard" of care in the long run.

Statistics:

  • Sales of cholesterol treatment drugs in 13 main markets: $29bn (£16bn) in the year to April.
  • Annual sales of Merck's Zocor: $4.4bn.
  • Annual sales of Pfizer's Lipitor: $12bn.
  • Effectiveness of Vytorin in reducing bad cholesterol levels: 56 per cent across all doses.
  • Effectiveness of Crestor in reducing bad cholesterol levels: 52 per cent.
  • Efficacy of Astra-Zeneca's new study: 70 per cent lowering of bad cholesterol levels.

Sources:

  • "Cholesterol treatment market 'on the brink of explosion'", Pfizer.
  • International Symposium on Atherosclerosis.
  • Morgan Stanley analysts' comments.