Statin by at least 50%, and recommend statins for patients who will not benefit, based on populations whose observed risk is lower than predicted by the guidelines. The European Society of Cardiology and the European Atherosclerosis Society recommend the use of statins for primary prevention, depending on baseline estimated cardiovascular score and LDL thresholds. Statins are effective in decreasing mortality in people with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. They are also advocated for use in people at high risk of developing coronary heart disease. On average, statins can lower LDL cholesterol by 1.8 mmol/l (70 mg/dl), which translates into an estimated 60% decrease
Specialty drugs in the United States not only costs more, but they also take longer to develop than other large market pharmaceuticals (See Drug development). In addition, there are often fewer drug choices for rare or hard-to-treat diseases. This results in less competition in the marketplace for these drugs due to patent protection, which allows these firms to act as monopolists (See Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act). Due to this lack of competition, policies that serve to limit prices in other markets can be ineffective or even counter-productive when applied to specialty drugs. High prices for specialty drugs are a problem for both