Statins account for 81% of first-line therapies for dyslipidemia treatment

Decision Resources, Inc., finds that despite the dominant market position of statins in the treatment of dyslipidemia, only 81% of patients receive a statin as a first-line therapy for the disease.

The new report entitled Treatment Algorithm Insight Series: Dyslipidemia finds that Pfizer's Lipitor and AstraZeneca's Crestor, both statins, are the leaders of first-line and third-line therapy markets, respectively, in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Additionally, Merck/Shering-Plough's Zetia, a non-statin agent, leads the second-line therapy market for treating the disease.

“We also found that, on average, over 97% of first-line therapy for dyslipidemia is prescribed as monotherapy,” said Alice von Loesecke, senior director at Decision Resources. “Even drugs such as Zetia and niacin, which are typically perceived as being adjunct therapies, are prescribed as monotherapy over 90% of the time when they are used as first-line agents.”

The new report series from Decision Resources combines in-depth primary research with the most extensive claims-based longitudinal patient-level data from PharMetrics (www.pharmetrics.com) to provide exceptional insight into physicians' actual prescribing trends and drivers of product choice from diagnosis through multiple courses of treatment for a specific disease. The Treatment Algorithm Insight Series examines physicians' actual prescribing behavior as they initiate therapy and move through second- and third-line choices.

The report presents a detailed analysis of the treatment of dyslipidemia in the United States based on two sources of data--longitudinal patient-level claims data and primary research. The patient-level data include treatment from initial diagnosis through three lines of therapy and analysis of pathways to key therapies from preceding agents. Insight into the factors driving physician prescribing behavior is drawn from an Internet survey of over 150 U.S. cardiologists and primary care physicians