Drug Lottery

Merck picks up where Pfizer left off- NJ.com: "Merck is clinging to hope an experimental cholesterol medicine -- one potentially worth billions in annual revenue -- won't suffer the same fate as a similar drug Pfizer was forced to abandon last year after a number of patients died in a late-stage study. Merck touted the results of early studies on its drug, anacetrapib, during a cardiovascular meeting yesterday in New York City. But the company is still hedging its bets: It will not make a final decision on whether to continue developing the compound until it learns more about what went wrong with Pfizer's drug."