Brand Reference: Lipitor
| Metric | Verified Benchmark | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Atorvastatin Calcium RxNorm Concept ID | 83367 | U.S. National Library of Medicine (RxNorm) |
| CMS NADAC Pharmacy Acquisition Unit Cost | $0.0440 / unit | CMS Medicaid NADAC Weekly Feed |
| Walk-In Chain Pharmacy Cash Average | $72.00 / mo | CMS NADAC + U.S. Retail Markup Index |
| Mark Cuban Cost Plus Wholesale Price | $5.40 / mo | Cost Plus Drugs Wholesale Feed |
| Community Mean Out-of-Pocket Paid | $6.20 / mo | 37 Zero-PHI Verified Patient Logs |
Competitively blocks the rate-limiting conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate inside hepatocytes, driving dense cell-surface LDL-receptor expression, accelerating clearance of ApoB100 LDL and VLDL remnants, and stabilizing fibrous coronary plaque caps via pleiotropic hs-CRP reduction.
Classified under Lipophilic HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor (Rx), Atorvastatin Calcium exhibits a $66.60/month gap between standard U.S. retail cash counters ($72.00) and verified direct-to-patient routing ($5.40) anchored to $0.0440 CMS unit cost.
Pharmacokinetic profiling of Atorvastatin Calcium demonstrates an elimination half-life of 14 hours parent / 20–30 hours active ortho- and para-hydroxylated metabolites with 14% systemic (30% intestinal/hepatic availability) systemic bioavailability; clearance proceeds via hepatic and intestinal cyp3a4 hydroxylation plus biliary elimination, reaching clinical onset within 2 weeks initial; 4 weeks peak ldl-c/apob drop.
Titration schedules for Atorvastatin Calcium (10 mg PO daily → 20 mg PO daily → 40 mg PO daily → 80 mg PO daily) require excluding acute hepatic transaminitis >3x uln; concurrent strong cyp3a4 clarithromycin/itraconazole; real-world patient logs highlight myalgia (11% of reports), arthralgia (6% of reports), dyspepsia (5% of reports) alongside a 89.10% Worth-It consensus.
Across 37 verified cash-pay logs, Atorvastatin Calcium achieves a 89.10% Worth-It rating with out-of-pocket spend averaging $6.20/mo versus $72.00/mo walk-in retail.
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Switched to Cost Plus Drugs at 10 mg PO daily for Atorvastatin Calcium; monthly out-of-pocket dropped to $4.75 compared with $72.00 retail.
Completed 10 weeks on Atorvastatin Calcium (20 mg PO daily). Zero notable side effects on steady dosing.
Consistent biomarker response on 40 mg PO daily Atorvastatin Calcium sourced via TeleMed ($6.26/mo cash pay without insurance prior authorization).