Despite the fact that anacetrapib lowers LDL at least as well as Vytorin did in IMPROVE-IT, the FDA would never approve anacetrapib based solely on LDL lowering. This is a new experimental agent and the results of REVEAL are needed before the FDA can act. This is not an unreasonable position. It will be interesting to see how the FDA will respond to other experimental LDL-lowering agents. Will the results of outcome studies be needed for those drugs as well? Regardless of how REVEAL turns out, the world of cardiovascular medicine should be appreciative of Merck’s efforts. Sure, Merck has a lot to gain if REVEAL is successful, as anacetrapib will become a major new drug. However, in the IMPROVE-IT and REVEAL studies, Merck probably invested close to a billion dollars with no assurance that either study would have a favorable outcome. Yet the knowledge gained in understanding the consequences of lipid modulation is invaluable to cardiologists and the patients that they are treating. It must be stated that such studies can only be done by a big pharmaceutical company like Merck. These type of studies cannot be funded by the NIH nor small to midsize companies. They simply can’t afford them.
The anonymous excerpt above can be read in its full context from the John LaMattina article. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2014/11/21/do-the-improve-it-results-offer-promise-for-another-merck-heart-drug-anacetrapib
And it leaves me asking, "Who gives a shit?" Merck is a sh!thole and I don't give a damn about it or its "research", which is a farce.
