Merck & Co/S-P's Inegy OKed in Germany

11 April 2004

Merck & Co and Schering-Plough's dual-action cholesterol-lowerer Inegy has been cleared in Germany, its first European approval. The product comprises Merck's blockbuster Zocor (simvastatin) and Zetia (ezetimibe), which the drug major is promoting with S-P in the USA, where it was approved at end-2002 (Marketletters passim).

At the recent annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, data were presented showing that ezetimibe and simvastatin, the active ingredients in Inegy, were significantly more effective at reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol than Pfizer's best-selling drug Lipitor (atorvastatin).

In the 24-week study, patients receiving ezetimibe 10mg with simvastatin (10mg-80mg) demonstrated greater LDL-C reductions than those taking atorvastatin alone (10mg-80mg), across the dosing ranges. After six weeks of treatment, subjects on ezetimibe 10mg/simvastatin 10mg and ezetimibe10mg/simvastatin 20mg experienced LDL-C reduction of 46% and 50%, respectively, compared with a 37% reduction seen with atorvastatin. Furthermore, as each treatment group was titrated through the dosing ranges, ezetimibe with simvastatin provided greater LDL-C reductions than atorvastatin at all points in the treatment period, noted the companies.

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