Statins Will Remain the Dominant Class in Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease, Although Their Market Share Will Decline More Than 20%

WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, Inc., one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, finds that statins will remain the dominant class in coronary heart disease treatment although their market share will drop from 55% in 2004 to 33% in 2014.

The new Pharmacor report entitled Coronary Heart Disease finds that generic competition will aggressively erode the market share of statins but the introduction of novel therapies in combination with statins will provide limited protection to branded statin franchises. The report also finds that emerging therapies including drugs from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, AtheroGenics, Servier, and CV Therapeutics will account for 19% of total coronary heart disease treatment sales in 2014.

"The launch of Pfizer's atorvastatin/torcetrapib combination pill will focus attention on low levels of high-density lipoprotein as a risk factor for coronary heart disease," said Mary Argent-Katwala, analyst at Decision Resources, Inc. "The marketing of this agent will be a critical factor in its success and we expect Pfizer to implement an aggressive marketing campaign for atorvastatin/torcetrapib, a drug that will command a premium price."

About Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease, a leading cause of death in the major pharmaceutical markets, represents an immense disease burden. According to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease will cost the United States $142.5 billion in 2006.

About Pharmacor from Decision Resources

Pharmacor is a unique family of studies that assesses a host of market- impacting factors and analyzes the commercial outlook for drugs currently on the market and in research and development.

About Decision Resources

Decision Resources, Inc., (http://www.decisionresources.com/) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services, and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and master their chosen markets.

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  For more information, contact:
   Elizabeth Marshall
   Decision Resources, Inc.
   781-296-2563
   emarshall@dresources.com

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