Pfizer suffered a significant setback recently when the company terminated the development of a promising new cholesterol treatment, Torceptrapib/Atorvastatin (T/A). It was hoped that T/A, the first in a new class of cardiovascular treatments, would eventually replace Pfizer’s most important drug, Lipitor, which loses its full patent protection in 2011. Lipitor is the leading cholesterol drug in the world with annual sales of over $12 billion, roughly one quarter of Pfizer=s annual revenues.

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