Lawsuits filed over Lipitor side effects

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Two men who believe they suffered lasting muscle damage from taking the popular anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor are suing medication’s maker, Pfizer Inc., claiming the company didn’t issue loud enough warnings about potential side effects.

Charles M. Wilson, a former insurance executive from Atlanta, and Michael Mazzariello, an attorney from New York City, said in separate lawsuits that they began experiencing debilitating pain, weakness and memory problems after taking the drug.

’It ruined my life,’ said Mazzariello, 47. He said that within weeks of going on the medication, he couldn’t walk without a cane, tend his garden or lift his 1-year-old child.

The symptoms subsided once Mazzariello stopped taking the medication _ he stood under his own power at a news conference Thursday at a Manhattan hotel _ but he said he still suffers from pain, fatigue and a tingling sensation in his hands and feet.

Pfizer called the two suits ‘baseless’ and vowed to fight them in court.

A spokesman for the company, Bryant Haskins, said all potential side effects of the drug are included on its labeling and often mentioned in advertising.

One of those warnings, prominently posted on the company’s Web site about the drug, cautions patients to ‘tell your doctor if you feel any new muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of rare but serious muscle side effects.’

Haskins said the number of Lipitor users experiencing those symptoms is ‘very, very small ... well under 1 percent,’ and that they are far outnumbered by the millions of people who have taken it safely.

‘This is a drug that has been on the market for 10 years. It is one of the most studied cholesterol lowering medications in the world,’ Haskins said. He said that research has repeatedly shown that the drug is safe for a vast majority of users.

Mark Krum, the lawyer handling the suits filed by Wilson and Mazzariello, acknowledged that the medication may be safe for most people, but he said that didn’t absolve the company of its duty to market it responsibly and adequately disclose side effects.

Lipitor, a type of statin, is the top selling medication in the world and brings in more than $12 billion a year for Pfizer.

Statins are considered among the best drugs for lowering cholesterol, which some studies have linked to heart disease.

The lawsuits were filed Wednesday in Manhattan’s State Supreme Court.

Pfizer stock was trading at $23.47 Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange, down 44 cents from its opening price.

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