Simvastatin gets additional FDA indication

   Merck & Co. announced on Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s simvastatin (Zocor) to increase HDL cholesterol levels.

    According to a Merck statement, Zocor is the first cholesterol-modifying drug indicated both for raising HDL cholesterol and for reduction of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Merck said that the approval for the new indication was based on data from four studies that showed that Zocor significantly increased levels of HDL cholesterol.

    Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Dean of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, commented in the Merck statement, ”The broadened indication for Zocor means that physicians now have a medicine indicated along with diet and exercise to manage key lipid imbalances.”

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