Pfizer granted Lipitor approval

The US food and drug administration (FDA) has approved the use of a cholesterol-lowering drug in patients with heart disease.

Lipitor tablets manufactured by global company Pfizer can now be taken by people with a history of cardiac troubles including those who have had a myocardial infarction or have had heart surgery in the past.

According to the US-based pharmaceutical firm, Lipitor is the first drug of its kind to be granted approval by the FDA to be prescribed in order to reduce the chances of hospitalisation in patients with heart disease.

The enterprise’s senior vice-president of global medical Dr Michael Berelowitz commented that the therapy “is the world’s most extensively studied cholesterol-lowering medication and is supported by a large clinical trial programme that includes more than ten cardiovascular outcome trials”.

He added that Lipitor is also the only statin which offers patients a sound safety record as well as the proven ability to cut the risk of cardiovascular events.

The drug is already approved for use with people who do not have heart disease and Pfizer claims that it is the world’s most prescribed treatment for lowering cholesterol.

A recent study of patients in Portugal found that statins can restrict the progression of heart valve disease, reported the Chicago Sun Times.