Merck’s Liptruzet Wins U.S. FDA Approval to Lower Cholesterol
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Merck & Co. won U.S. marketing approval for Liptruzet, a combination of the company’s Zetia pill and a generic version of Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor, to lower elevated levels of bad cholesterol.
The medicine may benefit patients who aren’t able to get their cholesterol to ideal levels with existing treatments, said Peter Jones, associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in a statement released today by Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck. The two-drug combination reduced cholesterol 50 percent in studies by blocking absorption in the digestive track and production in the liver.