This NY Times article reports on a preliminary University of Pennsylvania and Tufts University study that found that an experimental drug can sharply increase levels of H.D.L. — the so-called “good” cholesterol — and, thus, potentially offer an entirely new way to help prevent heart attacks. The new drug — called torcetrapib — also reduced low density lipoprotein, or L.D.L. in the tests.
Doctors currently concentrate on lowering bad cholesterol by giving patients statin drugs, which are researchers believe have reduced heart attacks in Americans by about one-third. This new study is a part of an initiative to reduce heart disease further by increasing good cholesterol.
This related Wall Street Journal article relates how Pfizer Inc. is investing $800 million on human tests of torcetrapib, which is the most that any drug company has ever committed to spend on a clinical test in an effort to obtain regulatory approval of a drug.