The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has completed its review of data from the ENHANCE trial and concluded that the cholesterol drug Vytorin should still be used although voices were heard saying that it is not that good at lowering levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.

 

Vytorin is made by a joint venture of Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. The drug is designed to lower bad cholesterol and raise the good one, thus benefiting patients at risk of heart attack, stroke and sudden death. It combines Merck’s older cholesterol drug Zocor with the two companies' other cholesterol drug Zetia.

 

Sales of Vytorin have decreased considerably because of the debate over its efficiency at reducing cardiovascular disease and preventing heart attacks. The debate was highlighted by the results of the ENHANCE trial, which showed Vytorin was no better than Zocor at reducing plaque buildup in neck arteries. That made many doctors give up prescribing the drug, leading to a 39 percent drop on prescription filled between January and November.

 

But the FDA said on Thursday that even though there was no difference in the thickness of carotid artery walls in patients taking either Vytorin or Zocor, there was a significant difference in cholesterol levels. To be more specific, patient on Vytorin had their cholesterol levels down 56 percent compared to 39 percent in those taking Zocor.

 

Therefore, “patients should not stop taking Vytorin or other cholesterol lowering medications and should talk to their doctor if they have any questions about Vytorin, Zetia, or the ENHANCE trial.”