Cholesterol combo not superior to solo drug
Vytorin no better than high dose of generic form of Zocor, study says
The Associated Press
updated 3:11 p.m. PT, Mon., Jan. 14, 2008

NEWARK, N.J. - Drug developers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp.
on Monday said patients with a predisposition to high cholesterol
fared no better when taking their combination cholesterol drug Vytorin
than with a high dose of the generic form of Zocor.

Vytorin is a combination of Zetia and Merck's Zocor, which lost patent
protection in 2006. The study measured the amount of artery-clogging
plaque in three areas.

It focused on a group of 720 patients with a rare condition
predisposing them to high cholesterol. The patients were given either
Vytorin or a high dose of generic Zocor, known as simvastatin.

In December, a congressional committee requested more information on
the study. The results were delayed, the companies maintained, because
of the complexity of the data.

The patients in the two-year study had rare condition called
heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, which the companies said
affected about less than 1 percent of the population.

Earlier this month, Merck CEO Richard T. Clark said he expected
Vytorin to keep a secure position in the cholesterol drug market and
cited several other ongoing studies in addition to this one.

Merck and Schering-Plough are conducting three additional studies,
involving more than 20,000 high-risk patients.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22654205/