In December 2006, Pfizer Inc. halted the development of torcetrapib, a cholesterol drug, after the data-safety monitoring board observed an increase in deaths and cardiovascular events among patients. Complete results from the study, known as Illuminate, will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study looked at 15,067 patients who were considered at high risk for heart attacks and strokes, all of whom received atorvastatin, or Lipitor, while half also received torcetrapib.

After one year, there was a 58 percent increased risk of death in patients taking torcetrapib and a 25 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events, when compared with patients taking Lipitor alone. There were 93 deaths in the torcetrapib group of the study and 59 deaths in the Lipitor-only group.

Torcetrapib is in a class of drugs known as inhibitors of cholesteryl ester transfer protein, or CETP, which raise the level of “good” cholesterol in the blood.

Source: Jennifer Corbett Dooren, “Pfizer drug for cholesterol needs additional research,” Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2007.