Pfizer touts “very positive” trial results for Lipitor replacement

Pfizer has said that the latest preliminary results for a phase III trial involving its torcetrapib/atorvastatin treatment – often termed as a replacement for the best-selling statin, Lipitor – are “very positive”.

The study, demonstrating the use of torcetrapib/atorvastatin in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH), revealed that the was able to increase the levels of “good” HDL cholesterol by 56 per cent, while lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels by over a quarter, compared to patients receiving atorvastatin alone.

However, patients in the torcetrapib/atorvastin group showed increased systolic blood pressure levels of roughly two millilitres in comparison to the atorvastatin-only group.

Dr Joseph Feczko, Pfizer’s chief medical officer, said that the studies are “far from complete”, adding that no final conclusions can yet be drawn on the efficacy or safety of the new treatment.

“We are pleased with the results of the HeFH study, and our overall lipid results from all the trials completed are very positive,” he remarked.

Dr Feczko added that the increase in blood pressure observed during the use of torcetrapib/atorvastatin should not change the “favourable” clinical profile for the drug.

In recent months, Pfizer has defended a succession of patent challenges for the best-selling Lipitor, which uses atorvastatin. One company, Ranbaxy Laboratories of India, has applied to overturn drug patents for Lipitor in several countries, including the UK, with mixed success.