The Statin Switcheroo: Lipitor and Simvastatin - WSJ

Pfizer’s been trying for years to prove that its cholesterol-fighter Lipitor is better than Merck’s competitor Zocor — with mixed results. Today, Pfizer-sponsored researchers are at it again, presenting this poster at a big European cardiology conference that says patients who switched from Lipitor to Zocor had a higher risk of death or serious cardiovascular problems than those who continued taking Lipitor.

The analysis, which mined data on British patients between 1997 to 2005, also found that those who switched had higher average cholesterol levels at the time they switched and were less likely to stick to their new therapy.