We last mentioned this development in early September of 2025 — when Rahway posted excellent top-line results. The detailed data is now out, and the next-gen cholesterol lowering pill is a very clear winner.

In a clinical study called CoralReef AddOn, Merck’s PCSK9 inhibitor effectively doubled the lowering effect seen with old Vytorin, a legacy Schering-Plough / Merck drug (with a troubled FDA disclosures / approval history — circa 2006).

So, this brings our narrative arc full circle — away from the debacle that largely caused the break-up of old S-P. Here’s that good news, from Fierce Biotech:

…Merck & Co. has lifted the lid on the third successful phase 3 trial of its PCSK9 inhibitor, showing the edge the cardiovascular disease prospect has over other oral non-statin therapies.

Last year, Merck said the study, dubbed Coralreef AddOn, met its primary and key secondary endpoints, but the company kept the data back for a medical meeting. The Big Pharma arrived at the American College of Cardiology’s annual get-together clutching the data, which show its oral macrocyclic peptide enlicitide comfortably beat the control treatments across multiple measures of cardiovascular health….

On Day 56, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) had fallen by an average of 64.6% in the enlicitide cohort. Patients on the combination of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe had the next biggest decline in LDL-C, but the drop lagged well behind the study drug at 36.5%….

And so, the Fred Hassan era is long-gone — as no more than a speed-bump, in the history of bad big pharma. Onward, smiling… yep — that’s the power-alley. And, has it really been two decades? I guess so, because “time flies — when you’re having fun….”

नमस्ते