Vytorin for the Treatment of Hyperlipidemia
May 14, 2004 by admin · Leave a Comment
Vytorin is a combination therapy comprised of two drugs already separately approved for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Zocor (simvistatin) and Zetia (ezetimibe) are combined in this oral medication currently awaiting an FDA decision on approval. Results released by Merck and Schering-Plough in March 2004 from Phase III clinical trials demonstrated that patients taking Zocor and [...]
Torcetrapib for increasing HDL cholesterol
April 9, 2004 by admin · Leave a Comment
On April 7, 2004 Pfizer announced preliminary results of a Phase I trial with torcetrapib, its experimental therapy for increasing HDL cholesterol. A study was published in the April 8, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, involving 19 patients. The results showed that torcetrapib significantly increased the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) [...]
Taxus Express
March 5, 2004 by admin · Leave a Comment
On March 4, 2004, Boston Scientific announced that Taxus Express, its paclitaxel-eluting stent system for the treatment of coronary artery disease, had received FDA approval. The company indicated that it planned to launch Taxus Express in the United States immediately. Cordis Corporation’s Cypher™ stent (see Week and the newly approved Taxus stent are currently the [...]
CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Stent
February 20, 2004 by admin · Leave a Comment
On February 18, 2004, Cordis Corporation announced completion of patient enrollment in the first randomized head-to-head coronary stent trial comparing its new CYPHER sirolimus-eluting coronary stent with the Taxus Express (2) paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent. This trial is expressly designed to compare performance differences between the two drug-eluting stents, particularly in high-risk patient group subsets such [...]