Schering-Plough stands by safety of its cholesterol drugs

WASHINGTON Schering-Plough, maker of Zetia and Vytorin, said the labeling on its cholesterol drugs regarding liver safety reflected the low danger the drugs posed.

In an investors’ conference, Schering-Plough head of research and development Tom Koestler said that of the 100 million prescriptions written for the drugs, serious adverse effects were very rare.

The statement comes on the heels of a December inquiry by two Democratic representatives from Michigan, John Dingell and Bart Stupak, who questioned why Merck and Schering-Plough delayed releasing Enhance trial data on Vytorin, a combination of Merck’s Zocor (simvastatin) and Merck and Schering-Plough’s Zetia (ezetimibe).