The Japanese researcher Akira Endo was the first to synthesize a statin, not some N.I.H "researcher." Yes, Lipitor is one of the statins, as the several types whose trade names are mentioned in the Fortune article from which I extracted most of my post.

I think your anecdotal story is the result of poor recall. What is the field of "Dr. English"? Perhaps N.I.H. evaluated some clinical trials, but it had nothing to do with primary statin synthesis.

A current area of research at Harvard Medical School is the relationship of statins to diabetes, researcher JoAnn Manson, professor of medicine, working with doctors at Brigham and Womens Hospital.

Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, an assistant professor, is working on relative reliability of statins; he says Lipitor and Crestor (AstraZenica Co.)are about equal in treating coronary artery disease.

Both of the above are referenced from the HMS website.