Scoop’s Views

It seems over-the-counter Zocor is just as effective as removing nasty plaque build-up from arteries, at about one-third the price of by-prescription-only Vytorin, according to a recently released study.

There’s more about the study, as well as one physician’s take on the study — a physician who once received money from Merck — at the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog. Check it out.

In the meantime, what would you — or are you — going to do: pay around $100 or so for the prescription-based Vytorin, or around $35 for the over-the-counter alternative, which has been shown to be just as effective, according to the study? The two work the same because both contain the same primary compound.

This new announcement comes about two weeks after Congress decided to take a peek at corporate records of Pfizer, wondering why Robert Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart, is the frontman for Lipitor.