FDA: Cholesterol Drug Trial Stopped Due to Patient Health Risks
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), drug maker Pfizer Inc. has halted the development of its experimental cholesterol drug torcetrapib, because a number of patients taking the drug in clinical trials experienced an increase in heart problems. The director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research also announced that similar cholesterol drugs (called "CETP inhibitors") currently in development will undergo increased scrutiny.