Lipitor cholesterol-lowering drug's manufacturer Pfizer Inc. won lawsuit: 74 percent of patients taking the $10 billion a year drug do not need it. While the lawsuit does not dispute Lipitor’s effectiveness in reducing LDL cholesterol in women, the lawsuit points that the ultimate goal of the therapy is to prevent heart attacks, strokes and deaths, which clinical trials have not proven the drug is able to do for women and seniors who has no heart disease or diabetes.
According to the lawsuit, a clinical trial showed that the women who took Lipitor developed 10 percent more heart attacks and heart disease than women who took the placebo pill. Another trial including 5,804 patients aged 70 to 82 found no reduced risk of heart disease for those who did not already have a heart condition.