Experts Weigh In On Zocor “Pharmacy Status” In UK, Prospects For U.S. Statin Switch
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Four experts in cardiovascular medicine participated in May 13 interviews with "The Tan Sheet" to discuss the UK's decision to switch Merck's Rx cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor (10 mg simvastatin) to behind-the-counter availability. Below are excerpts from conversations with PROVE-IT trial [comparing Pfizer's Lipitor with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol] principal investigator Chris Cannon, MD, Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston; Eric Topol, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Drug Safety & Risk Management Advisory Committee member Brian Strom, MD, University of Pennsylvania Medical School; and former Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee Chairman Eric Brass, MD/PhD, UCLA School of Medicine. Brass chaired the committee during its 2000 consideration of switches for Mevacor and Pravachol and currently is a paid consultant for Johnson & Johnson/Merck