Results say it fails to prevent the buildup of harmful plaque in arteries
A new study raises questions about the effectiveness of the heart drug Zetia.
About one million new presciptions for Zetia are written each week, and it is a big seller for Merck and Schering Plough, the drug companies which combine Zetia to make the drug Zocor. Now a new study raises questions about Zetia's effectiveness.
When Zetia is combined with another cholesterol-lowering drug , Zocor, it goes by the name "Vytorin".
These drugs do lower cholesterol, by at least 15 to 20 percent in most patients, but a new study says that Zetia failed the more important test: it does nothing to prevent the buildup of harmful plaque in arteries, when compared to older cholesterol medications.
Even more troubling to many physicians: why did it take the drug companies, Merck and Schering-Plough, so long to release these results? The clinical trial was completed almost two years ago.
Both companies declined interviews, but a spokesman for Merck told ABC News: "Variability in the data in some of the images" kept them from being analyzed and released any earlier.
No one knows how many Americans may have suffered heart damage because of the delay.
source: http://abclocal.go.com
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