Pfizer Looks to Sell OTC Version of Lipitor

Pfizer hopes to sell an over-the-counter version of its best-selling drug Lipitor when its generic forms are available in November.

Pfizer plans to sell an over-the-counter version of its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), the world's best-selling drug, which currently generates $11bn in sales a year for Pfizer.

The pharma giant loses its patent on  in November and so hopes to squeeze sales from its blockbuster medicine in the months after the expiration date.

Pfizer, however, could struggle to sell a non-prescription version of the drug because the US FDA has previously rejected the sale of over-the-counter versions of cholesterol drugs in the same class as Lipitor, known as statins, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The US patent protection of Lipitor was initially scheduled to expire in June 2011, but Pfizer made