Aurobindo Generic Zocor Ingredients

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. is a pharmaceutical manufacturer in India that makes generic versions of a number of commonly prescribed medications for sale around the world. One of the most widely used drugs they produce is simvastatin, a generic equivalent of Merck's cholesterol-lowering drug, Zocor. Aurobindo is just one of many companies around the world that have been making simvastatin since Merck's patent on the medicine expired.

Statins

• Simvastatin is the active ingredient in Zocor. It's one of a family of drugs, collectively called statins that also include Lipitor (atorvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin) Crestor (Rosuvastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin) and Lescol (fluvastatin). There are differences between them in how effective they are but all the statins have the same basic mode of action. Technically they are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, which work through the liver to reduce the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Some of the statins are better than others at selectively reducing LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or "bad cholesterol" and boosting the so-called good cholesterol, HDL. Aurobindo makes pills in five dosage levels: 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg or 80 mg.

Binders

• Along with the active ingredient, Aurobindo uses 13 or 14 inert ingredients (depending on the color) to make their simvastatin pills. Five of them are excipients--inert substances that are used as adhesives to hold the tablet together--microcrystalline cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose); water soluble forms of cellulose that can regulate the rate at which the medicine is released; and pregelatinized starch, made by boiling and drying corn starch. Microcrysaline cellulose is made from a natural material from the cell walls of plants, It compacts extremely well under minimal pressure and binds very well, so the tablets are very hard and don't crumble but still dissolve quickly. The other binding agent in the pills is lactose monohydrate, a form of milk sugar. The small amount of lactose in the pills should not cause a problem for people who are lactose-intolerant.

Preservatives and Antioxidants

• Some of the other inert ingredients are ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C, citric acid monohydrate--another compound commonly found in citrus fruit and used in foods and candies both for its preservative power and for its tangy flavor--and butylated hydroxyanisole, more commonly known by its initials, BHA; an antioxidant preservative used in processed meats and other foods and drugs to retard spoilage.

Mixing Agents

• Aurobindo also uses isopropyl alcohol and magnesium stearate, a salt of stearic acid, which help in mixing the ingredients evenly, titanium dioxide, commonly used to color foods, cosmetics and paints white, and talc (magnesium silicate hydroxide), which anyone who has rubbed talcum powder on a baby's bottom knows, creates a slippery coating.

Coloring Agents

• Aurobindo's simvastatin pills come in different colors to help distinguish the different dosages. The 5 mg pills contain ferric oxide yellow; the 10 and 20 mg pills have both ferric oxide yellow and red; and the 40 and 80 mg pills are made with ferric oxide red. All these colorants are made from what is essentially rusted iron.