For a three-year period Merck will inform a committee of its board if trial results are not reported within 12 months; the agreement resolves a shareholder derivative suit claiming Schering directors caused results of the Vytorin ENHANCE trial to be suppressed.

CHICAGO - With the full presentation of the results of the failed ENHANCE study at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting, a ringing endorsement for statin use and the results of IMPROVE-IT four years away, the door seems almost closed on Merck/Schering-Plough's Zetia (ezetimibe) and Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin)

The race to develop COVID-19 vaccines is intensifying long-standing debate over the ability of lower-income countries to gain affordable access to needed medical treatments. Patient advocates argue that drug makers and wealthy governments are striking deals that place poor countries at a disadvantage. The pharmaceutical industry, however, maintains it is moving as quickly as possible to not only discover safe and effective vaccines, but to enable equitable distribution.