PITTSBURGH and LYON, France, May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mylan Inc. today announced that it has launched Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg in France, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland. Mylan has received marketing authorization from each country's respective health authority to begin selling its product immediately. Atorvastatin Calcium is the generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor® Tablets. This product is indicated for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and hypercholesterolemia.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said: "We are pleased to provide access to generic Lipitor to more than 4 million patients in five countries across Europe. Mylan is committed to expanding access to high quality medicine in Europe and around the world."

Mylan EMEA President Didier Barret added: "Mylan's launch of Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets will help to provide health care systems in these markets with an estimated $700 million (euro 500 million) of savings in 2012 associated with the generic availability of this important medicine."

In France, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland, Lipitor had total sales of $1.6 billion (euro 1.126 billion) for the twelve months ending Dec. 31, 2011, according to IMS Health.

Mylan is a global pharmaceutical company committed to setting new standards in health care. Working together around the world to provide 7 billion people access to high quality medicine, we innovate to satisfy unmet needs; make reliability and service a habit, do what's right, not what's easy and impact the future through passionate global leadership. We offer a growing portfolio of more than 1,100 generic pharmaceuticals and several brand medications. In addition, we offer a wide range of antiretroviral therapies, upon which approximately one-third of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries depend. We also operate one of the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and currently market products in approximately 150 countries and territories. Our workforce of more than 18,000 people is dedicated to improving the customer experience and increasing pharmaceutical access to consumers around the world.