Lipitor has become one of the most commonly prescribed drugs on the market and is used by millions of people who suffer from high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels and other cardiovascular diseases. Ranbaxy Laboratories?generic Lipitor was scheduled to be available in 2010, but its public release date has been pushed back to early December 2011. After the release date, consumers will be able to buy FDA-approved generic Lipitor. Consumers looking for an immediate alternative can purchase foreign generic variants at online pharmacies.
Lipitor is classified as a statin, a drug class that is regularly prescribed to treat conditions related to cardiovascular disease. Lipitor uses the atorvastatin ingredient to inhibit a specific enzyme that promotes the production of cholesterol. The ingredient helps reduce overall cholesterol production by the liver and improves the liver? ability to remove bad cholesterol from the bloodstream. Generic Lipitor aims to provide the same effective health benefits at a fraction of the standard retail price. After December 2011, more pharmacy store chains and healthcare providers will likely start carrying generic Lipitor for prescribed use.
Although FDA-cleared generic Lipitor is expected to be available December 2011, other generic Lipitor variants are already available at online pharmacies. The generic Lipitor commonly found at online pharmacies are produced by manufactures in foreign countries, where it is generally cheaper and easier to create generic variants for public use. The generic variants use the same atorvastatin ingredient as name brand Lipitor and are designed to provide the same health benefits, but they are not exact reproductions of Lipitor, so therapeutic effectiveness may vary.
Consumers who do buy generic Lipitor online do so primarily because of the amount of money saved. For instance, a standard 90-tablet package of Lipitor retails for $85 to $90, but generic Atorvastatin is often available online for $40 to $45. For many people who rely on Lipitor medication on a daily basis, the difference in price is simply too large to ignore. Once the FDA-approved generic Lipitor from Ranbaxy Laboratories hits the market, even more consumers are expected to make the switch from name brand to generic medication.