Statins go head to head

Because of heated competition from Warner-Lambert's Lipitor, Merck is deeply discounting to 1,200 hospitals its anticholesterol drug Zocor. The normal wholesale price is $1.88 to $3.40 per tablet, and the company is offering the drug for "pennies a day." In return, the hospitals must ensure that a certain percentage of the drugs they prescribe are either Zocor or Mevacor, other Merck products. The slash-and-burn marketing technique may prompt other statin companies to cut their prices, and the one benefiting most may be you.