Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/study-poses-new-questions-about-cholesterol-drugs Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript The makers of the cholesterol drug Vytorin pulled its telelvision ads off the air on Tuesday, after a study found the drug was no more effective at reducing the risk of heart attack than one of its generic counterparts. Two doctors offer perspective on the study and the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: Health story number two: new questions about drugs to lower cholesterol. Gwen Ifill has that story. GWEN IFILL: More than 13 million Americans rely on prescription drugs to keep their cholesterol in check. But a new study raises questions about the effectiveness of one of the most heavily marketed of these remedies, Vytorin.The pill combines two anti-cholesterol drugs, an older one called Zocor and a newer pill, Zetia. VYTORIN AD NARRATOR: A healthy diet is important. When that's not enough, adding Vytorin can help. GWEN IFILL: According to the television ads, Vytorin lowers bad cholesterol. Its manufacturers say it also prevents the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries of patients with high cholesterol. The more plaque, the greater the risk of heart attack.The drug's manufacturers, Merck and Schering-Plough, released the findings of a 2006 report just last week. Their clinical trial, conducted on 720 patients, was meant to show how well the drug worked by lowering so-called bad cholesterol.But the report also revealed Vytorin worked no better at preventing plaque buildup than a high dose of Zocor alone.Yesterday, the drug's manufacturers announced they'd pull their TV ads. They have also taken out full-page ads to reassure patients, reading, "All of us at Merck and Schering-Plough proudly stand behind the established efficacy and safety profiles of Zetia and Vytorin."Vytorin and Zetia have combined annual U.S. sales of $5 billion.Now, for some help in understanding this study and the role of cholesterol, we turn to Dr. Susan Bennett, director of the Women's Heart Program at George Washington University Hospital; and Dr. Harlan Krumholz, professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. He's also the director of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at the Yale New Haven Hospital.Welcome to you both.