Since I take this medication, I'm interested in this story, although late getting to it. There sure doesn't seem to be much followup in the press.
A Barron's newspaper article Monday cited physician concerns that Abbott's cholesterol medicine TriCor might cause kidney and heart problems. But Abbott disputed the report on its fourth largest selling drug, and investors shrugged off the article.
Barron's referenced a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year by Dr. Steve Nissen that raised questions about the drug's safety. The small study found that levels of creatinine, a substance produced by the muscles and eliminated by the kidneys, can be elevated in patients taking fenofibrate, marketed by Abbott as TriCor.
The concern is that the increased levels could be a sign of kidney function decline, according to Nissen, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Such a decline could lead to plaque buildup in the arteries that in turn could increase cardiac events, according to another cardiologist quoted by Barron's.
In good news: I had a great cholesterol panel.