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Statins – the heart of the matter

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 2, pages 343–344 (2003)Cite this article

Worth $19bn in global revenues, Pfizer, Merck and BMS are all heavily reliant on revenues from statin sales. With more statins entering the market for treating cardiovascular disease, notably rosuvastatin calcium (Crestor; AstraZeneca), there will soon be in excess of 14 companies fighting for market share. Interestingly, although 120 million people are suitable for statin therapy as part of their heart disease management, only about half are thought to receive it.

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Figure 1: Treatment pathway for angina.
Figure 2: Top 10 Cardiovascular drugs in 2002.
Figure 3: Statin/combination market.

References

  1. LaRosa, J. C., He, J. & Vupputuri, S. Effect of statins on risk of coronary disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA 282, 2340–2346 (1999).

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  3. Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20 536 high-risk individuals: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 360, 7–22 (2002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wood Mackenzie, 5th Floor, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad St, London, EC2N 1HN, UK

    Christian Downton & Iain Clark

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  1. Christian Downton
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  2. Iain Clark
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American College of Cardiology

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Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc

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Downton, C., Clark, I. Statins – the heart of the matter. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2, 343–344 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1090

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