Abstract

The case is about Pfizer’s blockbuster anti-cholesterol reducing drug, Lipitor, the largest selling pharmaceutical brand in the world. Despite Lipitor being a late entrant in the statin market, it managed to become the market leader due to the aggressive marketing strategy adopted by Pfizer. However, Pfizer’s marketing of Lipitor came under intense scrutiny, when in March 2006 some labor unions in the US sued Pfizer for alleged off-label marketing of Lipitor. Pfizer also faced a class action lawsuit from some consumer advocacy groups regarding its promotional activities that were targeted at women and the elderly. Pfizer was also accused of withholding information about the potential side-effects of Lipitor. Lipitor was also the subject of controversy regarding its allegedly over-zealous direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. In addition to this, the case also discusses the concerns regarding the slowing down of Lipitor sales, the delay in launch of the Torcetrapib/Lipitor combination, the ongoing patent litigations with generic manufacturers like Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. over Lipitor, and the expected generic competition from substitutes like Pravachol and Zocor, which had gone off-patent.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the nature of the global market for statin drugs and the major players
• Understand the issues and concerns with regard to Pfizer’s marketing of Lipitor
• and Understand the legal and business challenges faced by research based global pharma-ceutical companies.

Keywords

Pfizer , Lipitor (Atorvastatin), Direct-to-consumer (DTC) Advertising, Class Action Lawsuit, Off-label marketing, Patent Litigation, Cholesterol-reducing drug, Statins Market, Zocor (Simvastatin), Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Marketing Ethics , Torcetrapib, Consumer Activist Advocacy Groups, Food and Drug Administration(FDA), Dr. Robert Jarvik