Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) has entered into an agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) to initiate the development of a new cholesterol-lowering drug by combining ezetimibe and atorvastatin.
Past collaborations between these two companies created ZETIA® (ezetimibe) and VYTORIN® (ezetimibe/simvastatin).
ZETIA® (ezetimibe) is indicated (along with a healthy diet) for use either by alone or combined with statins in patients with high cholesterol to reduce LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol when the response to diet has been inadequate.
On the other hand, VYTORIN® (containing both ezetimibe and simvastatin) is indicated as adjunctive therapy to diet (when diet alone is not enough) for the reduction of elevated total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, Apo B, triglycerides and non-HDL cholesterol and to increase HDL cholesterol in patients with primary (heterozygous familial and non-familial) hypercholesterolemia or mixed hyperlipidemia.
Ezetimibe works in the digestive tract to inhibit the absorption of cholesterol while cholesterol-lowering agents known as statins (i. e. atorvastatin) works in the liver to reduce the production of cholesterol.
In this context of complementary mechanisms that Schering-Plough and Merck would like to come up with one product for the management of cholesterol.
Find more details from the full report.
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