Pfizer: data show Lipitor cuts heart attack risk more than simvastatin

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Sept. 6 - Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that patients who had a recent heart attack and took Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg dose experienced significantly fewer heart attacks than patients taking simvastatin 20-40 mg dose, according to results of a new analysis presented at the World Congress of Cardiology in Barcelona, Spain.

Patients who took Lipitor 80 mg dose had a 46% reduction in the risk of experiencing another heart attack and a 34% reduction in the risk of experiencing major coronary events, which included heart attack, cardiac death and cardiac arrest, compared with patients who took simvastatin 20-40 mg dose, the New York pharmaceutical company said in a news release.

Lipitor 80 mg also significantly reduced the combined risk of death, stroke, unstable angina and revascularization by 18% compared to simvastatin 20-40 mg. The safety profiles were similar between the two groups, officials said.

This analysis was based on the Ideal trial and was designed and conducted after the trial ended. It represents the longest follow-up of patients with a recent heart attack on statin therapy, officials said.

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