Niacin causes serious unexpected side-effects, but no worthwhile benefits, for at risk patients

Adding extended-release (ER) niacin to statins does not reduce the chances of high risk patients having a heart attack or stroke, Oxford University scientists leading the HPS2-THRIVE study have revealed at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific (ACC) conference in San Francisco over the weekend.

HPS2-THRIVE was funded by a grant to Oxford University from Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), which also provided the ER niacin/laropiprant (trade name Tredaprive) and matching placebo tablets, as well as background simvastatin or ezetimibe/simvastatin combination. However, the study was designed, conducted, analysed and interpreted independently by the investigators at Oxford University and the independent members of the study Steering Committee.

In addition, the researchers report that the use of ER niacin causes a significant number of different types of serious side effect. Some of these side effects were already known to be caused by niacin, but some of them were unexpected.