No Difference Between Statin Drugs

The statin smackdown contest between Crestor and Lipitor is a draw. At least that is the conclusion of a new study that pitted high doses of both cholesterol-lowering drugs. Over a thousand patients were randomized to either Crestor or Lipitor. Investigators compared the thickness of the plaque in the coronary arteries. After two years they found it had shrunk by about 1 percent in both groups. The study was not designed to show whether patients would be less likely to have heart attacks. Since both drugs performed about the same, insurance companies are likely to prefer the less expensive medication, now that Lipitor is about to go off patent.
[New England Journal of Medicine, Nov 15, 2011]