Joshua Daly

Lipitor vs. Zocor: What is Better For Your Health and Your Wallet

In the battle of cholesterol lowering medication, Lipitor has a commanding advantage in today’s market.  

Lipitor is the world’s number 1 selling drug. According to USA Today, Lipitor’s sales have risen $3.1 billion in the second quarter and are expecting to hit record high sales of 13 billion this year. The number 2 cholesterol fighting medication or “statin” in the industry is Zocor.  Zocor has recently released a generic version of the anti-cholesterol drug in hopes to sway consumers to from Lipitor, and purchase their new, less expensive product.  But is Lipitor really worth the extra money?  We’ll find out by comparing Lipitor’s prices, results, and side effects to that of Zocor, the leading competition in the statin industry.

• Price

In the battle for price, Zocor’s generic alternative Simvastatin dishes out the first blow.  For 90, 10mg tablets it costs $225.97 Lipitor, and $199.97 for Zocor.  And for 90, 40mg tablets it costs $312.00 for Lipitor compared to $238.00 for Zocor.  The New York Times reports that “In many cases, they say, patients who now take the most commonly prescribed dosage of Lipitor - 10 milligrams daily - can reduce their cholesterol just as much with Zocor. Lipitor costs $2 or more a day, while generic Zocor will probably cost 35 cents or less.”  The larger the dosage the more savings Zocor offers.  If you order a large amount of pills at a time, or you require a large dosage of the medication, you can save a reasonably large amount of money.  I give the edge in the price department to Zocor.    

• Results, Effectiveness

This category is very close as both drugs are very affective in reducing bad cholesterol (LDL) and raising good cholesterol (HDL).  Both Lipitor and Zocor belong to the class of drugs known as “statins”, which lower cholesterol by blocking the enzyme in the liver that produces bad cholesterol.  In a recent study done by Phizer the producer of Lipitor, it was found that Lipitor was no better at preventing major heart complications than its leading competitor Zocor.  However CBS found that “Lipitor outperformed Zocor on several fronts such as lowering cholesterol and preventing nonfatal heart attacks.”  In the category of effectiveness the edge goes to Lipitor. 

• Side Effect

As with any prescription medication, both Lipitor and Zocor have a small percentage of users that experience adverse side affects.  Both have minimal side effects including upset stomach, gas, heartburn, change of taste, diarrhea, constipation, skin rash, headache, dizziness or blurred vision that may occur the first few days as your body adjusts to the medication.  However in recent clinical trails, it has been found that a rare muscle problem has been linked to statin drugs, which includes both Lipitor and Zocor.  An estimated 5 to10 percent of all patients using statins experience these adverse side affects of minor muscle soreness and loss of muscle strength.  So in the final category of adverse side affects, it is a draw.

Visit this Consumer Advocacy website for more information on ordering online prescriptions.  

Article Tags: Both Lipitor, Adverse Side

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