Cardiovascular Outcomes with Ezetimibe and Simvastatin Similar to Statin Alone, Claims Data Suggest

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, released a study that found no significant differences in cardiovascular outcomes when comparing the effectiveness of ezetimibe/simvastatin to equipotent doses of simvastatin or atorvastatin alone.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla.

The large-scale, population-based study examined de-identified electronic pharmacy and medical claims data from multiple health insurance plans with membership across the United States for three groups of patients: those receiving combination therapy simvastatin/ezetimibe, those receiving simvastatin alone, and those receiving atorvastatin alone. There were approximately 10,000 patients in each group.

“In this large cohort of patients at high risk for future adverse cardiovascular outcomes, there were no significant differences in health outcomes measured when comparing combination therapy to monotherapy alone,” said Scott D. Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D, a member of the faculty of the University of Washington School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy. “Longer-term follow-up studies are needed to determine whether the apparent lack of difference in cardiovascular outcomes between these approaches persists over time.”

According to Dr. Joseph Addiego, chief medical officer for Prescription Solutions, “This study adds to the growing body of scientific literature on statins used to lower cholesterol, one of the most commonly prescribed classes of drugs in America. Our population-based, retrospective claims analysis provides additional support to the safety and clinical benefits of this class of drugs as the medical community awaits results of the large IMPROVE-IT study due to be reported in 2012.”

Prescription Solutions conducted this study because cholesterol-lowering drugs, particularly statins, are among its most widely prescribed medications. The company routinely conducts scientific studies on various disease states as a way to use its clinical expertise to advance the practice of medicine and add to the scientific literature. This is a key element of Prescription Solutions’ ongoing search for the most current, highest quality evidence available to enable it to provide the best, most cost-effective medications to its beneficiaries.

About Prescription Solutions

Prescription Solutions is an innovative pharmacy benefit management company managing the prescription drug benefit of commercial, Medicare and other governmental health plans, as well as those of employers and unions. A UnitedHealth Group company, Prescription Solutions serves members through a national network of 64,000 community pharmacies and state-of-the-art mail service pharmacies in Carlsbad, California, and Overland Park, Kansas, which have both earned the prestigious Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS®) accreditation by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®). The company was recently named by WilsonRx® as the No. 1 National Top-Tier PBM, and No. 1 National Mail Order Pharmacy for customer satisfaction two years in a row. Prescription Solutions also won two Silver Awards for URAC’s Best Practices for Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards – Geriatric RxMonitor program (2008) and the Drug Interaction Alert Program (2009). Additional information can be found at www.prescriptionsolutions.com.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through six operating businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth, Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million individuals nationwide.

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