Lab Rovi soon to market Vytorin and Absorcol in Spain, the first of the five licenses from Merck & Co

Spanish drugmaker Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi says in a regulatory filing that it will soon be marketing the cholesterol lowerers Vytorin (ezetimibe and simvastatin) and Absorcol (ezetimibe) in Spain, the first of the five marketing licenses for its products that Merck Sharp & Dohme, the operating name for US drugs giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) in Europe, awarded to Rovi as part of the strategic marketing and manufacturing agreement of July 23, 2009.

Vytorin and Absorcol will be marketed in Spain from January 2011 in a co-marketing regime with Ezetrol (ezetimibe) and Inegy (ezetimibe and simvastatin) respectively, for a period of 10 years. Although they are two different products, Rovi and MSD have agreed to consider them as one in terms of the marketing rights granted to the Spanish firm by MSD, as Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe, the selected active principle, and simvastatin. Hypercholesterolemia is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

It is one of the main risk factors for ischemic heart disease (angina and myocardial infarction), which is one of the main causes of death in Spain, as well as for cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease.