TheStar.com - Rivals gear up as patent lapses on cholesterol drug:


The makers of four cholesterol drugs are busy promoting their products as new competition opens for such drugs.
On Friday, Merck & Co.'s Zocor will lose U.S. patent protection, and health plans are aggressively trying to promote low-cost generic versions of the drug for patients who don't require a major cut in their cholesterol levels. The makers of Lipitor, Crestor and Vytorin will be battling more fiercely.
Experts said Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor will suffer most in the new environment because many patients on low doses of its medicine could reach the necessary cholesterol level at a high dose of Zocor.