| Title | [Drug of the month. Ezetimibe/simvastatin tablet (Inegy)] | | Author(s) | Scheen AJ, Radermecker RP | | Institution | Université de Liège, Département de Médecine, CHU Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgique. | | Source | Rev Med Liege 2007 Sep; 62(9):585-90. | | MeSH | Anticholesteremic Agents
Azetidines
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, LDL
Drug Combinations
Humans
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
Hypercholesterolemia
Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II
Simvastatin
Treatment Outcome
| | Abstract | Inegy, recently launched by Merck Sharp & Dohme and Schering Plough, is a fixed combination of simvastatin, which inhibits hepatic cholesterol synthesis, and ezetimibe, which selectively inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and phytosterols. The two mechanisms of action are complementary and result in a synergistic cholesterol-lowering effect. Three formulations of Inegy are commercialized and reimbursed in Belgium, ezetimibe 10 mg/simvastatin 20 mg, ezetimibe 10 mg/simvastatin 40 mg and ezetimibe 10 mg/ simvastatin 80 mg. By blocking both synthesis and absorption of cholesterol, the fixed combination exerts a cholesterol-lowering effect as important as, or even greater than, that observed with the highest dosage of simvastatin and other statins, with a good tolerance profile. Inegy is indicated, as adjuvant treatment to diet, in patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia (homozygote or heterozygote familial form and non-familial polygenic form) not well controlled with a statin alone. Ongoing trials aim at proving the efficacy of such a fixed combination in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. | | Language | fre | | Pub Type(s) | English Abstract
Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 17966796 |
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