RIP Torcetrapib

Devastating news for Pfizer. This was the HDL-raising drug that was anointed the star of Pfizer’s pipeline:

According to Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry, 82 patients taking the combination of torcetrapib died, compared to 51 deaths in the arm of the study where patients were taking Lipitor alone. Each arm of the study had 7,500 patients. Pfizer said that the study didn’t raise any questions about Lipitor’s safety.

There already had been concerns about Torcetrapib because a study showed it caused an increase in blood pressure. In raising its earnings guidance for the year Thursday the company emphasized that it has 242 research programs and other promising drugs in the pipeline, but analysts remained focused on Torcetrapib and said Pfizer would struggle without it.