One small CETP for Merck

Merck & Co. Inc.’s massive cardiovascular outcomes trial for anacetrapib finally may have shown a CETP inhibitor provides a benefit. But the question remains whether the relative risk reduction is large enough for it to get approved, and for doctors to be willing to use it in the second-line setting for hyperlipidemia over generic ezetimibe.

Three cardiologists contacted by BioCentury said anacetrapib will have to show at least a 10% relative risk reduction before they’d consider the benefit to be clinically meaningful. ...