"but if there was no meaningful difference in the crestor/lipitor statin could the patent they are applying for be the lipitor/apabetalone combo (?)...since they already have the crestor/apabetalone combo?"

I sure hope that the patent that Don referred to isn't just a lipitor/apabetalone combo patent. The basis of the crestor/apabetalone patent was that this combination had a synergistic effect that was far superior to lipitor/apabetalone. A new lipitor/apabetalone patent would kind of be an admission that BETonMACE showed no difference with either statin. In this case, this patent would essentially just be for a convenient combo pill, not because there is any special synergy when combined with one statin vs. the other. I would much rather there be a more exciting patent in the works.

BDAZ