January 12, 2009 7:31 a.m. EST
Miami, FL (AHN) – Federal regulators approved the use of a controversial drug to treat high cholesterol last week.
The Food and Drug Administration gave Vytorin the OK a year after a study came out suggesting it wasn’t any more effective than Zocor in lowering bad cholesterol.
Vytorin is a combination of simvastatin, the generic name for Zocor, and ezetimibe.
But now the FDA said a recent trial found a 56-percent reduction in bad, or LDL, cholesterol levels in patients taking Vytorin compared with a 39-percent decrease in those taking Zocor.
The FDA said carotid artery thickness in patients taking Vytorin for two years was higher than those taking Zocor, but that the difference was not “statistically significant.”
Both Vytorin and Zocor are manufactured by Merck, but Zocor is also available in generic form after the company lost patent protection in 2006.