ABBOTT PARK, Ill.—Abbott Laboratories said Friday it received Food and Drug Administration approval for combination cholesterol drug Simcor, which is made up of Abbott's niacin extended-release pill Niaspan and and simvastatin.
Simcor is approved for use along with diet to simultaneously lower levels of elevated total cholesterol, LDL "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising HDL "good" cholesterol in patients when treatment with either simvastatin or Niaspan alone aren't adequate.
Abbott has targeted this market with drug Advicor, which includes Niaspan and the lower-strength statin Lovastatin.
An estimated 80 million Americans have high levels of the bad LDL cholesterol, and more than 44 million have low levels of the good HDL cholesterol, which the body uses to remove bad cholesterol from the bloodstream.
