What is "pitavastatin"

Pitavastatin (usually as a calcium salt) is a member of the blood cholesterol lowering medication class of statins, marketed in the United States under the trade name Livalo. Like other statins, it is an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme that catalyses the first step of cholesterol synthesis.

It has been available in Japan since 2003, and is being marketed in South Korea and in India. It is expected that pitavastatin will be approved outside Southeast Asia as well. In the US, it received FDA approval in 2009. Kowa Pharmaceuticals is the owner of the American patent to pitavastatin.