News
Vytorin Prescriptions Down 23% Since Controversial Trial
Prescriptions for Merck & Co.'s (MRK) and Schering- Plough Corp.'s (SGP) embattled cholesterol drug Vytorin have dropped sharply in the two weeks since a study raised questions about its effectiveness, according to a market-research firm.
Total U.S. prescriptions written for Vytorin in the week ended Jan. 25 fell about 23% to 305,579 from 397,533 in the week ended Jan. 11, estimated Verispan, a Yardley, Pa., drug-data vendor.
Results of the so-called Enhance patient trial were released Jan. 14, and showed that Vytorin was no better than generic simvastatin in slowing artery- clogging despite reducing bad cholesterol to a greater degree. Vytorin is a single-tablet combination of simvastatin and Zetia.
The study prompted some doctors to call for limiting the use of Vytorin and Zetia, at least until ongoing patient studies show whether it can reduce the risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular results.
Prescriptions for standalone Zetia, which the Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture also markets, fell 25% to 221,478 from 294,405 two weeks ago, Verispan said.
In total, the number of prescriptions written for cholesterol-modifying medications last week fell 10% to 3.7 million from 4.1 million two weeks earlier.
Merck and Schering-Plough have stood behind Vytorin's effectiveness in reducing bad cholesterol, and some medical societies have cautioned that people shouldn't stop taking Vytorin or Zetia before talking to their doctors.
The companies have come under fire for taking roughly 21 months to release the Enhance study results after its April 2006 completion, with critics suggesting they were delayed because the companies knew they would be negative and wanted to protect the brisk sales growth for Vytorin and Zetia.
Members of Congress and the New York State Attorney General are investigating various aspects of the companies' handling of the study, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the data.
Vytorin and Zetia had an estimated $5 billion in combined sales last year and have contributed substantially to profit growth at Merck and Schering-Plough.
Shares of Merck rose 3.1% to $49.25 Monday, while Schering-Plough gained 3.3% to close at $19.64. The stocks have fallen considerably in the past two weeks, with both setting 52-week lows on Friday.