The drug, called Cordaptive, combines an extended-release form of the B vitamin niacin. It is effective at lowering bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol - with laropiprant, a compound that lessens the symptoms of flushing triggered by treatment with niacin.
Flushing - the dilation of blood vessels includes redness, burning and tingling of the face, coupled with warming or burning on the face or neck.
The results were presented Sunday at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Vienna.
In the phase III trial, researchers studied Cordaptive on 1,613 people with abnormal levels of heart-disease related fatty substances in the bloodstream for 24 weeks.
The results revealed that Cordaptive produced an 18 percent drop in levels of LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol; a 26 percent drop in another type of blood fat called triglycerides, and a 20 percent increase in levels of HDL-C, or "good" cholesterol.
The results were almost the same in patients who also took cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. Cholesterol is one of several fatty substances found in the bloodstream.
Total body cholesterol is made up mainly of bad cholesterol, which can build up in the walls of arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke, and good cholesterol, which keeps bad cholesterol from building up in the arteries and protects against heart disease.
Additionally, Cordaptive also showed a reduction of 22 percent in the triglyceride levels - another form of fat in the blood and may raise the risk of heart disease. There were also no reports of flushing or mild flushing symptoms with Cordaptive treatment.
The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based drug maker Merck has already submitted the data from the trial to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and expects to receive feedback for the sale of drug in the second quarter of 2008.
If approved, Cordaptive could be used by patients who are not able to consume statins or those who already take statins but need to further control the cholesterol levels.
