FDA backs Vytorin for kidney disease patients

Zacks.com submits: Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) recently reported positive results from the SHARP (Study of Heart and Renal Protection) study on its cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin.

Pharmalot submits: Call it the Vytorin Scandal, Part Two. Last month, we learned that University of Oxford researchers, who were running a trial of the Vytorin cholesterol pill in 9,438 people with chronic kidney disease, attempted to change the composite endpoint, which would make it easier to show positive results. Merck (

[AP] - Drugmaker Merck & Co. said on Saturday that a new study shows that its cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for heart surgeries in some chronic kidney patients by 16 percent.

DENVER (AP) -- Drugmaker Merck & Co. said on Saturday that a new study shows that its cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for heart surgeries in some chronic kidney patients by 16 percent....

[AP] - Drugmaker Merck & Co. said on Saturday that a new study shows that its cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for heart surgeries in some chronic kidney patients by 16 percent.

DENVER (AP) -- Drugmaker Merck says a new study shows that its cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for heart surgeries in some chronic kidney patients by 16 percent....

[AP] - Drugmaker Merck says a new study shows that its cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for heart surgeries in some chronic kidney patients by 16 percent.

Zacks.com submits: Ireland-based health care product maker Covidien plc (COV) has backed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ((FDA)) recent labeling changes for Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) for patients with renal diseases. GBCAs, which contain the chemical element gadolinium, are injectable drugs that are frequently used in magnetic resonance imaging ((MRI)) scans.