Pravastatin sodium is the sodium salt of pravastatin, a ring- opened member of the statin family. Pravastatin is produced biosynthetically from compactin (mevastatin) by a number of micro-organisms, notably Absidia, Cunninghamella, Syncephalastrum, Nocardia or Streptomyces. Typically, statins like compactin, lovastatin and simvastatin possess a b-hydroxy lactone ring which is a pro-drug for the readily ring-opened dihydroxyacid generally regarded as the active HMG-CoA inhibitor. Importantly, the free carboxylic acid enables pravastatin to be freely water soluble within biological pH ranges. Pravastatin is used therapeutically to reduce LDL cholesterol.