That drug wasn't even the leader in the cholesterol-fighting pack, led by Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people), Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people), and Bristol-Myers Squibb (nyse: BMY - news - people).

FORBES: Magazine Article

Evidence is mounting that cholesterol can't be low enough in at-risk patients.

FORBES: Preventing Heart Attacks

Those with good cholesterol levels typically don't have their hs-CRP levels tested because there are no clear guidelines on who should be tested and how often.

CNN: Study: Cholesterol drugs could help those with healthy levels

The failure of Pfizer's much-hyped drug to raise good cholesterol is a reminder that things don't always work the way companies want them to.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But in January results from an artery-imaging study showed that adding Zetia to Zocor didn't slow heart-attack-causing atherosclerosis in patients with a genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol.

FORBES: Merck And Schering's Uneasy Alliance

Sixty-nine people got Zetia on top of more proven cholesterol drugs and 154 didn't.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Lipitor will reduce your bad cholesterol by 40% to 50%--but what happens if you don't want to take the drug for the rest of your life?

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

Researchers speculating about what went wrong thought perhaps torcetrapib made HDL that didn't work, or that HDL itself (short for high-density lipoprotein, and often called "good cholesterol") was less powerful than they thought.

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Blumenthal thinks Zetia is still a good option for people who need high doses of the lifesaving cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, including Lipitor, Zocor and Crestor, but won't take them because of side effects.

FORBES: Efficacy Questions Still Dog Vytorin

And while existing medicines like Lipitor, Vytorin and Crestor aren't enough for some FH patients, they work well for most patients with run-of-the-mill high cholesterol.

FORBES: Genzyme Eyes Isis Drug