The Clock Is Ticking For Pfizer And Lipitor…
8 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // November 30th, 2011 // 8:20 am
As the patent expires today on the wildly successful Lipitor cholesterol pill, what better way to commemorate the moment than with a cheap tchotchke, which can also help you keep track of when the 180-day exclusivity period runs out for lower-cost generic versions?
That’s right, folks. The Pfizer reps - those who still work for the drugmaker - may no longer distribute such promotional freebies, but for the sentimental, a few Lipitor pens, and even a mug or two, can still be had by visiting online auction sites. Bidding for this battery-operated collectible starts at a mere 99 cents. Hurry, time is running out.
What better way, after all, to remember those freewheeling days when physician offices were awash in such frivolous items? And when blockbusters were blockbusters? And perhaps the clock can serve another useful purpose - tracking just how much time it takes for Pfizer to truly compensate for the Lipitor patent expiration.
Tick, tock…..
Cody T.
…but when will generic lipitor actually BE available is another story!!
Cody T.
isn’t generic lipitor going to be tied up in FDA litigation for the foreseeable future?
original industry insider
Pfizer is hanging on to that time clock as tightly as professor Emmett Brown held on to that tower clock in “Back To The Future”.
Very cool scene IMO.
http://movieclips.com/bdRy-back-to-the-future-movie-back-to-the-future/
Cody T.
@original industry insider:
Thank you for your highly relevant and useful response to the article.
company insider
I still have some Bextra cups for mixing hot choclate or coffee with creamer. Push a button and it spins the paddle at the bottom of the cup. Lawyers have even had the cups before state investigative panels Are they worth anything?
I also have pens with the GI cameras in them, but they atarted leaking all over the place like the side effects of the drugs did in real life. WHo wants a leaky pen? anyone?
Phex
Great job Ed. Hate to show my age, but I’m still remembering those shrimp cocktail days from the Pfizer rep.
Screw the tzchocke clocks/pens….which I couldn’t even give away to my kids!
original industry insider
Hey, Cody. Get a life.
PHARMAR
Thinking back on all the years watching Lipitor… Through posters in your cardiologist office, to ads in a magazine, to that fake doctor they hired for TV, to the recent intergrated push that made hypercholesterolemia a seemingly desired ailment, so you could take Lipitor—it’s incredible how I’ve never before wanted a brand to go generic.
Pfizer has and will continue to make more advancements, to serve patients as well as patients who don’t know they’re patients yet…