Lilly Suspends Heart Drug Development

FDA News's Kellen Owings reports that Eli Lilly is suspending development of its leading heart drug candidate evacetrapib.

The decision was made after an independent data monitoring committee determined that the drug was not effective in a phase 3 clinical trial. Evacetrapib was being evaluated for use in patients at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. Lilly hassaid the trial of was not halted for safety reasons.

"This is the latest setback for a group of investigational drugs called cholesterol ester transfer protein [CETP] inhibitors, which attempt to raise a person’s “good” cholesterol," writes Owings, noting that Pfizer stopped a clinical trial of its CETP inhibitor torcetrapib in 2006 and Roche halted a phase 3 trial of dalcetrapib in 2012.