AstraZeneca launches new Crestor savings card in USA, as generic Lipitor about to debut

The US subsidiary of Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) yesterday launched a new savings card which allows eligible patients to get their prescription for the firm’s cholesterol lowerer Crestor (rosuvastatin) for just $8 more than the average co-pay of a generic statin. Eligible patients can pay just $18 for a prescription of Crestor (up to 30 tablets), noted AstraZeneca.

The move comes just ahead of US patent loss for Pfizer’s all-time blockbuster statin Lipitor (atorvastatin) at the end of this month which, as was the case when simvastatin lost exclusivity, is expected to impact on sales of other – still patent-protected -cholesterol lowering drugs. AstraZeneca’s sales of Crestor grew to $1.66 billion in the third quarter of this year, with turnover in the USA for that period at $753 million, up 20% year-on-year, so that company has a lot to protect.

For commercially insured patients, the CRESTOR Savings Card offers savings on out-of-pocket costs that exceed $18 (up to a $50 savings limit) on each of eligible patients’ next 12 prescriptions for Crestor (up to 30 tablets). Patients with no insurance coverage will receive $50 off each of their next 12 prescriptions for the AstraZeneca drug (up to 30 tablets).