Please note: As of December 2006, Pfizer has discontinued clinical trials related to torcetrapib, due to increased mortality and cardiovascular events in those individuals taking the drug. The article below was written before the studies noted these serious side effects in individuals taking torcetrapib.
Published: June 26, 2005
Pfizer is in the works to manufacture a new cholesterol-lowering drug, a torcetrapib/atorvastatin combination, in its Loughbeg, Ireland facility soon. Torcetrapib is a promising, new investigational drug that lowers cholesterol unlike any of the cholesterol-lowering medications on the market. This drug functions by inhibiting cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), which is an important molecule in the liver that transfers cholesterol and regulates cholesterol size. Atorvastatin functions by lowering LDL cholesterol levels ("bad" cholesterol).
It has taken almost fifteen years for scientists at Pfizer to develop torcetrapib. This new approach to lowering cholesterol included the development of new chemicals that could raise HDL levels and looking at individuals who did not have CETP, which left them with higher than normal levels of HDL ("good" cholesterol) and lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. The resulting trials and research conducted on this drug has been promising to date. For instance, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, this drug has been shown to raise HDL levels by 61% and lower LDL levels in combination with a statin, as opposed to only 46% when used without a statin. Torcetrapib has no effect on LDL levels.
Results from other trials have revealed that due to the enhanced rise of HDL levels when combined with a statin, torcetrapib should be combined with atorvastatin as one drug. Researchers involved with the study feel that atorvastatin’s ability to lower LDL levels and torcetrapib’s ability to raise HDL levels will provide an excellent defense against cardiovascular disease.
The torcetrapib/atorvastatin combination is currently in phase III clinical trials, where researchers are examining effectiveness and mortality in individuals taking the drug. This drug is not available to date, since is still undergoing phase III clinical trials. It has been postulated by various sources that this drug may be on the market in 2008. Nonetheless, the results gathered from the trials and research so far look very promising.
Sources:
Brousseau ME, Schaefer EJ, Wolfe ML et al. Effects of an inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein on HDL cholesterol. N Engl J Med 2004;350:1505-15.
