Three years later Merck pulled Vioxx from the market when additional studies confirmed that daily, long-term use of the drug could increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
[4] In 2007, the meta-analysis by Nissen and his co-investigator Kathy Wolksi, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association online on October 20, found that the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) produced by GlaxoSmithKline carried high cardiovascular risks,.
[7][8] In 2003, Nissen led a Journal of the American Medical Association study, producing evidence that five weekly infusions of ApoA-I Milano/phospholipids complex, a synthetic form of HDL, can possibly remove significant amounts of plaque from coronary arteries.
The lipoprotein enhanced the ability of HDL cholesterol to usher fat out of the arteries and into the liver for excretion leading to the purchase of Esperion Therapeutics, the tiny company that had produced recombinant Apo-A1 Milano, by Pfizer for $1.3 billion.
[13] In 2006, Nissen and his co-investigators reported on The ASTEROID trial (A Study to Evaluate the Effect of Rosuvastatin On Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Coronary Atheroma Burden).
The study concluded that intensive use of statins resulting in a decreased LDL and increased HDL can reverse the build-up of plaque in coronary arteries, as measured by IVUS.