One low-dose statin - simvastatin - is available in a low dose to buy from the pharmacist.
The real issue for IMPROVE-IT is showing that the combination is superior to a statin-only treatment.
FORBES: Cholesterol Drug Heart Study Continues, But Will Merck's Vytorin Really IMPROVE-IT?
Zetia can be added to a low dose of a statin to lower cholesterol even more.
Certain medicines interact with this particular statin, increasing the risk of myopathy, or muscle damage.
The problem is, simvastatin is known to be a weaker statin than atorvastatin or rosuvastatin (generic Crestor).
FORBES: Cholesterol Drug Heart Study Continues, But Will Merck's Vytorin Really IMPROVE-IT?
He strongly agreed with the authors conclusion about the lack of definitive evidence for aggressive statin therapy.
FORBES: Unconventional Analysis Finds Threshold For LDL Reduction With Statins
What we know for sure is if people with heart disease take a statin, they do better.
Dr Bosetti said there was some evidence suggesting cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may help protect against prostate cancer.
Obviously, these companies are hoping that the addition of REGN727 will be superior to statin therapy alone.
But by the age of 75 statin use had peaked at 29%, falling to 23% after that.
Tredaptive included niacin, a statin and another drug meant to reduce the flushing side effect of niacin.
Then, it becomes a niche product for use in specific situations for statin resistant or intolerant patients.
The clinical benefits of either ezetimibe alone or combining ezetimibe with statin therapy have recently come into question.
It was expected that combining Zetia and Zocor, an off-patent statin, would do this better than Zocor alone.
It's also used in people who can't tolerate higher doses of a statin and need more cholesterol lowering.
First, it provides definitive proof Crestor has lifesaving benefits like other statin drugs, such as Lipitor, Zocor and Pravachol.
But I will give this a try because I would like to avoid taking a statin drug, if possible.
Labels for combination statin products like Advicor, Simcor and Vytorin will also change.
The AIM-HIGH trial had enrolled high-risk individuals and all were prescribed statin drugs.
And of course on the mornings I was taking Vicodin, I was deprived of the cholesterol-lowering benefit of my statin.
Hazlett notes another promising drug: an anti-cholesterol treatment called ezetimibe that makes any of the vaunted statin drugs more attractive.
With statin prescriptions growing only 6% a year, he says, Zetia-Zocor will have to cannibalize Zocor immediately to sell well.
This time the FDA's complaints focus on claims in television and print ads that Crestor is the most effective statin.
It would not be unprecedented for a new statin to come along and snag the largest share of the market.
The drug is given on top of an existing statin, and further lowers cholesterol by absorbing it in the digestive system.
Several blockbuster drugs lost patent protection in 2006, such as the statin Zocor from Merck and the antidepressant Zoloft from Pfizer.
But to do so, it is going to have to demonstrate superiority over the entire field of statin drugs, including Lipitor.
Its successes included the first statin cholesterol drugs Mevacor and Zocor, the first mumps vaccine and some of the first HIV drugs.
Zetia should then be added only when the statin dose is highest.
FORBES: Merck's Cholesterol Pill Win Is Already Drawing Fire
应用推荐