› $4.85 Billion settlement in drug case
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it found no clear link between Merck’s blockbuster cholesterol drug Vytorin and increased risk of cancer, but it could not rule out the possibility that such a link exists. The agency reviewed data from three Vytorin trials, including the controversial SEAS trial results, which Merck had withheld from the public for 18 months as it aggressively marketed the drug.
Today in Munich, Germany, researchers presented all of the data from the SEAS (Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis) study to the European Society of Cardiology. The SEAS study roused concern back in July when researchers revealed a possible link between cancer and the Zetia half of Vytorin.
As news of Vytorin’s lackluster performance in clinical tests circulates throughout the medical community, many prominent physicians are advocating a return to the use of statins to treat high cholesterol. Statins, such as Crestor, Zocor, and Lipitor, lower the liver’s production of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Research shows that statins also reduce cardiac events by 60 percent and strokes by 17 percent.
