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Case Study

Battling for leadership in the statins market

By Adrian B. Ryans

25 pages

December 2003

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Reference: IMD-5-0625

The case describes the growth and development of the statins product category in the 1980s and 1990s. Statins were cholesterol-lowering drugs used to treat a variety of lipid disorders. By 2003 statins were the world’s largest drug category. The case describes in some detail the competitive dynamics in the industry between the mid-1990s and 2003. Pfizer introduced Lipitor in 1997 and was successful in achieved market leadership by 2002. In 2003 AstraZeneca launched a new statin drug Crestor, and management at AstraZeneca is faced with the challenge of developing a marketing strategy to capture a significant share of the market from Lipitor and the other entrenched competitors in the product category.

Keywords

Marketing Strategy, Competitive Analysis, Industry Dynamics

Settings

United States of America
August 2003

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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