Vytorin ads appear in grocery aisles

NEW YORK Ads for the prescription cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin have begun appearing in checkout lines at Stop & Shop supermarkets.

A spokesperson for the partnership between Merck and Schering-Plough to develop cardiovascular drugs told the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger that the companies were advertising the drug in supermarkets because of its ad campaign’s focus on food and family history as sources of cholesterol.

Vytorin had global sales of $2.8 billion in 2007, according to Merck financial data.