Bring out the niacin.
That's the simplest message from a small but long-awaited study comparing Abbott Laboratories' niacin-based drug Niaspan against Merck Inc.'s cholesterol-lowering medicine Zetia.
In the 208-patient trial that was far from definitive, Niaspan proved more effective than the Merck drug in reducing the accumulation of plaque in the neck arteries, a marker for heightened risk of heart attack and stroke.
BOSTON (Reuters) - Shares of Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) rose more than 2 percent in early trading on Monday after results of a clinical trial of its cholesterol drug Zetia were not as negative as some analysts had expected.
* Niaspan leads to reduction in artery wall thickness * No meaningful change seen with Zetia * 5 times as many serious adverse events seen with Zetia * Journal editorials cite several limitations of study (Adds reaction.
ORLANDO — The blockbuster cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia suffered a major setback Sunday when doctors released the results of a second study in as many years that raises concerns about how well the drugs work.
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