Zetia Articles

Halle-Wittenberg, Germany: Can a drug designed to curb heart attacks also cause heart attacks in some people? Apparently, it's possible with statins or medication like Zetia when used in combination with a statin. Statins are designed to lower the "bad" cholesterol thought to be a contributing factor for heart attack and stroke, while leaving the so-called "good" cholesterol to do the good work that good cholesterol, ultimately, does.

Washington, DC: The emerging scandal surrounding Merck/Schering-Plough's Zetia and Vytorin cholesterol-lowering drugs has raised questions about some related issues. To recap: on January 14, after nearly a two-year delay, Merck/Schering released the results of its ENHANCE testing program for their combination Zetia/simvastatin (Zocor) drug called Vytorin. Those results indicated that Vytorin, and by implication Zetia, apparently was no more effective than simvastatin drugs alone in reducing or inhibiting arterial plaque in users. Arterial plaque is the prime cause of stroke and heart attack.

Washington, DC: The long-delayed release of the ENHANCE testing results for Merck/Schering-Plough's Vytorin anti-cholesterol drug on January 14 brought on a storm of responses. The ENHANCE results indicated that Vytorin, which combines Merck/Schering's Zetia with generic simvastatin (Zocor), did lower patients' LDL (bad) cholesterol somewhat better than simvastatin alone, but did no better than simvastatin alone in reducing arterial plaque build-up, the prime cause of stroke and heart attack.

Kenilworth, NJ: The scandal over Merck/Schering-Plough's long delay in releasing the results of the ENHANCE tests of its big-bucks anti-cholesterol medication Vytorin continues to grow—to the extent that The Wall Street Journal now calls it "Vytoringate". And like its predecessor scandal, the focus of investigations has come down to a simple question: What did Merck/Schering know about the ENHANCE results, and when did they know it?

Whitehouse Station, NJ: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, on Friday (Jan 25, 2008), that they will review the safety and efficacy of Zetia/Zocor (Vytorin) after results from the ENHANCE trial suggested that the combination had no significant reduction in atherosclerotic-plaque progression.

Huntington Beach, CA: George Stavros fits the profile of someone who would be prescribed Merck/Schering-Plough's Zetia anti-cholesterol drug to help prevent a possible heart attack. The question is whether it did him more harm than good.

Kenilworth, NJ: Merck/Schering-Plough announced on Tuesday January 22, that they are pulling all direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements for their Zetia and Vytorin products. Zetia is Merck/Schering's branded anti-cholesterol drug which is also used in Vytorin, which contains Zetia and the statin drug Zocor (simvastation).

Washington, DC: The House committee that has been investigating Merck/Schering-Plough's two-year delay in releasing the ENHANCE test results for its Vytorin combination drug now wants information on the company's marketing practices.

Dallas, TX: After a two-year delay, Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals has released the ENHANCE test results for its controversial Vytorin combination drug. Vytorin combines Merck/Schering's Zetia and the statin drug Zocor (generic simvastatin). The tests showed that Vytorin performs no better than simvastatin alone in reducing plaque buildup in the arteries.

New York, NY: When the makers of Zetia announced that they were changing the goals of a clinical trial of the drug, after the trial had already been started, the companies faced a great deal of criticism. According to an article in Forbes, the situation was actually more controversial than that.