The WSJ reports the findings of this once-promising drug from the ACC meetings:
This morning the curtain was pulled back on study results the company had hoped would support its eventual approval. The experimental drug raised patients’ good cholesterol by 61% when taken with Lipitor, compared with those taking Lipitor alone. But that increase in good cholesterol didn’t halt or reverse narrowing of arteries, a disappointment that casts doubt on the concept behind the pill . . .. . . The other bad news was that torcetrapib plus Lipitor increased systolic blood pressure by 6.5 millimeters of mercury, versus a 2 mm increase in the Lipitor-alone group. A drug that raises blood pressure in patients already at risk of heart disease is not exactly what cardiologists had in mind.
Related posts:
- RIP Torcetrapib
- Why torcetrapib failed: A possible mechanism
- The torcetrapib disaster: Blogosphere response
- The young and the medicated
- Is the impending physician shortage worse than we thought?
- Pfizer gives up on cardiac drugs
- Generics are killing Pfizer
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{ 1 comment }
It’s very premature to be writing off the concept of statins and other drugs that raise HDL-C the good cholesterol.
Perhaps beginning the therapy at a younger age may be better than waiting until the vessel clogging has advanced.
There has been talk of even making the statin drugs sold OTC.
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