Abbott's Niaspan beats Merck & Co's Zetia in halted trial
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Merck & Co's Zetia (ezetimibe) has suffered a further blow after it was shown to be less effective than Abbott's extended-release niacin product Niaspan in the prematurely terminated ARBITER 6 HALTS trial. The results are "not that surprising", according to some cardiologists, but more data are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn because of the nature of the trial and the fact that it was stopped early.