Simvastatin
Brand names: Simvastatin, Zocor
Part of: Statins
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 14,316,051
- Medicare drug cost
- $120.4M
- Average cost per prescription
- $8.41
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 202,360
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
ZOCOR ® is indicated: To reduce the risk of total mortality by reducing risk of coronary heart disease death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke, and the need for coronary and non-coronary revascularization procedures in adults with established coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and/or diabetes, who are at high risk of coronary heart disease events. As an adjunct to diet to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C): In adults with primary hyperlipidemia. In adults and pediatric patients aged 10 years and older with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). As an adjunct to other LDL-C-lowering therapies to reduce LDL-C in adults with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). As an adjunct to diet for the treatment of adults with: Primary dysbetalipoproteinemia. Hypertriglyceridemia.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated March 2025). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Family Medicine 37.4%
- Internal Medicine 30.2%
- Nurse Practitioners 15.2%
- Physician Assistants 5.6%
- Cardiology 3.2%
- General Practice 3.1%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.3%
- Interventional Cardiology 0.9%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.7%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 0.4%
- Hospitalist 0.3%
- Pulmonology 0.2%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions fell 32% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- New Hampshire −20%
- Maine −21%
- Utah −22%
- Vermont −24%
- Wisconsin −24%
- Mississippi (smallest change) −40%
- New York (smallest change) −38%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 5 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Bryant Ranch Prepack
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | yellow oval tablet, 9 mm | Y22 |
Northstar Rx LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mg / 10 mg simvastatin | white capsule, 8 mm | G321 |
| 10 mg / 20 mg simvastatin | white capsule, 11 mm | G322 |
| 10 mg / 40 mg simvastatin | white capsule, 14 mm | G323 |
| 10 mg / 80 mg simvastatin | white capsule, 17 mm | G324 |
Organon LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | orange oval tablet, 9 mm | MSD 735 |
| 20 mg | brown oval tablet, 12 mm | MSD 740 |
| 40 mg | red oval tablet, 14 mm | MSD 749 |
Preferred Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 20 mg | brown oval tablet, 11 mm | LL C03 |
St. Mary's Medical PArk Pharmacy
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 20 mg | brown oval tablet, 11 mm | LL C03 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
2 recalls since 2020
- Feb 2023 · Accord Healthcare, Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: recalling drug products following an FDA inspection. - Mar 2020 · Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: Products were manufactured in a processing area in which water leakage was observed
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.