Merck & Co., Inc. / Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on ENHANCE Trial; Study Taking Longer Than Anticipated

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. & KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals today announced that an independent panel of clinical and biostatistics experts was convened on Friday, November 16, 2007 to offer advice about the prospective analysis of the ENHANCE trial. ENHANCE is a multinational, randomized, double-blind, trial that examines the effects of the highest approved dose of VYTORIN/INEGY (10 mg ezetimibe + 80 mg simvastatin) versus the highest approved dose of simvastatin 80 mg alone in patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). Patients with this uncommon genetic condition usually have very high cholesterol levels. HeFH occurs in approximately 0.2 percent of the population.