Getting your player ready...
ORLANDO, Fla. — A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin — drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work. Both are highly profitable for Merck & Co.
In the study, Zetia failed to shrink buildups in artery walls while a rival drug, Niaspan, did so significantly. Zetia users also suffered more heart attacks and other problems, although the numbers of these events were too small to draw firm conclusions.
The results were published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Top Merck executives are vigorously defending their drugs and have dismissed the new research as limited.
