Pfizer Inc. (PFE) will try to introduce a nonprescription form of top-seller Lipitor to help cushion tumbling sales of the cholesterol pill as generic versions reach the market, Chief Executive Officer Ian Readsaid.
Lipitor, which is Pfizer’s biggest product, loses U.S. patent protection on Nov. 30. The New York-based company is looking for ways to replace its $10.7 billion in annual revenue as cheaper copies drive down prices.
“There is an intent at some point to have an OTC version of Lipitor in the marketplace,” Read said today on a conference call discussing third-quarter earnings. A nonprescription version of Lipitor wouldn’t be available until at least 2013 because of the regulatory process to get it approved, he said.
“We have no definitive evidence we can do it,” Read said in an interview. An over-the-counter version of Lipitor would be the first of the statin cholesterol drugs on the market that consumers could buy without a prescription. The medicine would still compete with generic versions.
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