Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — Regulators ended last week and started this one by rejecting two potential blockbuster cholesterol drugs, leaving three companies reeling and Wall Street wondering whether tougher approval standards have arrived.
Merck surprised investors late Monday when it said the Food and Drug Administration did not approve its cholesterol pill Cordaptive. It was counting on the approval to replace flagging sales of cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zocor.
The agency dealt a similar blow to Genzyme Corp. and Isis Pharmaceuticals on Friday, saying they must conduct additional studies of their cholesterol drug mipomersen, which will delay its launch for several years.
On Tuesday, shares of Merck & Co. fell 9 percent while Isis fell 4 percent.
