Pfizer ends development of "blockbuster" cholesterol drug after excessive patient deaths: NewsTarget.com

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that it has ended a clinical trial for the highly anticipated cholesterol drug torcetrapib -- which raises levels of "healthy" HDL cholesterol -- after a high number of patients participating in the trial died or experienced cardiovascular problems.

Pfizer, the world's largest drug firm, was informed over the weekend that an independent board monitoring a study of torcetrapib found that 82 patients out of 7,500 who were taking the drug had died. Fifty-one patients out of 7,500 in the same study who were taking Lipitor -- Pfizer's best-selling cholesterol drug -- also died, though the company said it was not concerned over Lipitor's safety.

According to a Pfizer spokesperson, the company is requesting that all clinical investigations of torcetrapib be halted, and patients taking the drug stop immediately. Previous studies had shown the drug to slightly increase blood pressure, but researchers were unclear on whether high blood pressure contributed to the patients' deaths or heart troubles.

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Pfizer ends development of "blockbuster" cholesterol drug after excessive patient deaths

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