Torcetrapib aims to raise good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein, by blocking the cholesterol ester transfer protein.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Merck unveiled another kind of HDL-raiser, a drug to inhibit the cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP).

FORBES: Magazine Article

All the drugs work by blocking the cholesterol ester transfer protein.

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Researchers got excited about HDL in the late 1990s because they found a way to raise it by blocking a molecule called cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP).

FORBES: Good Cholesterol Goes Bad

Both work by inhibiting an obscure molecule called the cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) that works indirectly to prevent HDL from being used to create low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Merck and Roche are also developing other HDL-raising drugs that work by inhibiting the cholesterol-ester transfer protein, similar to a Pfizer drug that failed several years ago.

FORBES: HDL-Raising Drug Fails To Show Benefit In Government Study